HANOVER, N.J. – Very little has come easy for the New York Red Bulls in 2016.
Even in their first win of the season, late-game dramatics were required to get the Red Bulls on the board for their first points of the season against the Houston Dynamo.
But during Friday night’s trip to Gillette Stadium, more misfortune befell the already beleaguered side.
Following a virtuoso performance his last time out, midfielder Felipe was sent off in the second half. The red card not only forced him out for the final half-hour of the match in New England; but will also render him ineligible for New York’s upcoming home match against Sporting Kansas City.
The Red Bulls can use one of their two red card appeals to have the red card rescinded, but a final decision has not yet been made.
“The reality of this week is that we’re going to have to rotate guys,” head coach Jesse Marsch told reporters of Monday’s training session. “That was going to happen whether Felipe gets a red card or not. If Felipe stays suspended, then there’s no hesitation to put Sean Davis on the field. In general, we’ll have to figure out how to use our whole roster. We’ve already been challenged that way, but certainly this week we’ll have to make sure we can put fresh legs on the field to go after games.”
Marsch’s need to use the whole roster is hardly an overstatement, as defender Kemar Lawrence also appears to be doubtful for the team’s upcoming match. The Jamaican international was involved in the controversial moment that saw the Revolution net their only goal of the match, as Lawrence hit the turf in pain while New England continued to play on.
Now sidelined, the Red Bulls will need to dip even further into their reserves, but defender Connor Lade showed confidence in his team’s ability to perform no matter who steps onto the pitch.
“We feel like we’ve built some good depth this year,” he told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “Now it’s time for everyone else to step up, myself included. There are chances, now, for a lot of people. After all the hard work that we’ve put in since the preseason, you want to be ready for this point when you’re called upon. We’re going to need everyone to be ready. When your name is called, you have to step up and be ready for that opportunity.”
The rocky start has certainly tested this young Red Bulls squad, but there remains a strong belief that a course correction is a matter of when, not if.
“It seems like things are working against us, but we’ll get our guys back,” defender Chris Duvall said. “Luckily it’s early on and there are still 30 games left in the season. It’s good to get these things out of the way early on, now we have a lot of time to build.”
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