The New York Red Bulls’ Arizona group is set for their second Desert Diamond Cup match against Houston Dynamo.
After falling in their opening match of the tournament, John Wolyniec’s group hopes to build upon their performance against Sporting KC after a positive few days in training.
“We’ve talked about a couple tactical things over the last couple days and hopefully the guys can implement some of the things we’ve been talking about,” Wolyniec said. “[The match] might be a little bit about seeing what guys can do, more than next steps tactically, and getting an assessment of guys so to speak, so it’ll be a dual function.”
For the players, who are a mixture of MLS, USL, Red Bulls academy players and trialists, they’re looking forward to the opportunity to continue moving their game forward.
“I’m just looking to build off the game against Sporting Kansas City,” Arun Basuljevic said. “Even though we lost, I think there were some positives to take from it, and for me, it was a confidence booster.”
With the first team at home for tonight’s Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal, the Red Bulls youngsters have been given the opportunity against top-flight MLS opponents, something the players do not take lightly.
“These games against MLS teams, who’re towards the latter end of their preseason, they’re putting out some of their best lineups,” Basuljevic said. “It’s a great opportunity to come out and represent the club in the best way possible and try to implement things that we’ve been taught.”
Be sure to catch the New York Red Bulls take on Houston Dynamo at 4 p.m. ET on NewYorkRedBulls.com, followed by the first leg of the Red Bulls’ Champions League matchup against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 8 p.m. ET.
