HANOVER, N.J. – The New York Red Bulls are looking to pick up their first points of the 2016 season, but the task won’t be an easy one, as the league’s highest scoring team rolls into town.
Netting eight goals through just two games, the Houston Dynamo are flying high on the heels of a massive derby win at the weekend. After a dramatic 3-3 draw with the New England Revolution to start the season, the Dynamo blitzed in-state rivals FC Dallas in a 5-0 thrashing at BBVA Compass Stadium, and it will be on the Red Bulls to find a way to slow them down.
It makes for an interesting clash at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night, as the Red Bulls are hoping to get in the win column for the first time this season, while the Dynamo will be keen to build on their early season momentum.
“It won’t be an easy game,” head coach Jesse Marsch said. “The one thing about Houston is that they always compete. They’re strong, they’re good in the air, they make things hard; it’s the hallmark of who Houston has been, so that’ll be a challenge for us.
“There’s always been a grittiness with that team and that’s as much the makeup of the players as it is the coaches. Owen inherited a pretty gritty team, and I think that’s going to be a big part of Houston’s identity for a while. They can be very explosive in the attack so we’ll have to deal well with that.”
In past years, forward Bradley Wright-Phillips has enjoyed a fair bit of success against the Dynamo. The Englishman, who currently stands third on the franchise’s all-time scoring charts, got off the mark for the first time in his illustrious MLS career in Houston back in 2013. He didn’t stop there, though, as he managed to bag five more goals against the Dynamo through New York’s first two matchups with the Texas-based club in 2014.
His goal scoring exploits are certainly impressive, but the 31-year-old isn’t reading too much into those past results.
“I’ve been very fortunate against them, but they’re a different team now,” Wright-Phillips cautioned. “They always start well and they’ve got a lot of goals in their first two games, so it’s going to be a tough challenge. They’re coming off a huge win, so they’ll be confident. It’ll be tough, but we’ll put them in a tough game.”
As is seemingly always the case, the Red Bulls are more concerned with their own locker room than their opponent’s game plan. And if they are to earn their first win of the season, New York will have to avoid the self-inflicted gaffes that have contributed to their slow start thus far.
“We’ve made a few mistakes as a team that have led directly to goals, so we’ve shot ourselves in the foot,” midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. “Staying concentrated and being committed are the two keys.”
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