HANOVER, N.J. – By nature, rivalry matches tend to mean a little bit more.
In victory, the squad can benefit from an unprecedented boost in confidence and form. End up on the losing end? The pain is that much greater.
In their last Atlantic Cup clash, DC United outclassed the Red Bulls at RFK Stadium cruising to a 2-0 victory. New York hasn’t forgotten.
“We can all agree that that was probably the low part of the season. Because of that, it won’t take many reminders,” head coach Jesse Marsch said after training on Thursday. “I think we all understand that we let ourselves down in a big way and we were very disappointed with how we performed in that game and the kind of competitive will and energy we put into it.”
Dating back to the league’s inception in 1996, DC and New York have had some memorable battles in both league and playoff competitions. In recent years, the Red Bulls had made a habit of dispatching the black-and-red, but their road fixture on May 13 was a different story.
Looking to make good on their last effort, defender Chris Duvall insists that things will be different this time around.
“It’s a little bit of revenge time,” he told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “We love playing against DC. They’re our oldest rivals and it’s one of the biggest rivalries in the league. If you can’t get up for these games, you’re in the wrong business.
“We’re going to be ready for this game, but we know it’s going to be a tough one. We saw the game they gave us last time, it’s not going to be the same this time.”
Road trips have been particularly tough for New York as have notched just one win away from home in MLS play. They’ve had some close calls in Philadelphia, Columbus, and Los Angeles, but three points away from Red Bull Arena have been ever elusive in 2016.
“It’s definitely about the mentality to know that we can play the same type of game away as we do at home,” Duvall continued. “We have a little bit of a chip on our shoulders because we haven’t gotten wins away and we’ve been bad on the road. It’s about time to turn that around.”
Sunday afternoon would be the perfect time to get road win number two against another rival as the the Red Bulls look to keep pace with Toronto FC and New York City FC who lead the way in the Eastern Conference.
Having experienced the bitter taste of a derby defeat earlier this year, Marsch is determined to avoid a repeat performance.
“I’ve made little reminders, but we all know that we’re in for a bloodbath,” the gaffer added. “We need to be us but also be up for the challenge and make sure that we put the game on our terms. We didn’t do that last time, we have to do it this time.”
