The New York Red Bulls had an eye on their matchup with Columbus Crew SC for a while.
"We’ve been working on preparing for them for a few week’s now," Head Coach Chris Armas said following training on Friday. "We know them well, and I think they know us well, and every time we play there’s a few good interesting twists to the game."
The two sides clash again following a 1-1 draw in Ohio earlier this season.
"Columbus can play through our pressure at times, and we’ve had to suffer through that," Armas said. "It’s not just long balls, it usually involves a little more thought than that, whether it’s diagonals or some other intricacies of them playing direct, and they’ve been effective."
Gyasi Zardes scored for Crew SC in the first matchup, while Alex Muyl tallied the equalizer for the Red Bulls.
Tyler Adams was not with the team in the last matchup, as he was away with the United States Men's National Team.
"Columbus will be an interesting one," Adams said. "Columbus has good players, they’ve added some players this year that have made a difference, obviously, Zardes being a big one. Once he gets going, he’s hard to stop. Our center backs have a big job on the day, but everyone in front of them, not letting him get service and shutting down those passing lanes will be important as well."
Adams has had a good look at Zardes, playing in USMNT January Camp with him earlier this year.
"On the day, we have to stop him and it’s a big matchup," Adams said. "It’s important to keep an eye on him at all times."
Armas will face off against longtime Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter for the first time as head coach.
"Tactically, there’s a lot that goes into their team," Armas said. "Gregg and his staff, they do a tremendous job. They keep you off balance in many ways, they challenge us at the highest level of what we try to do, so sometimes it sets up to be a really fun game. Even the last game out, we went back and forth, maybe a tale of two halves and little adjustments made throughout the game."
Armas, though, knows what the Red Bulls need to do.
"We have to stick being us, who we are, and what makes us good," Armas said. "As long as we do that we usually put ourselves in a good spot against anyone, especially at home. I know the game will come and there’s going to be some interesting things that you see. In the end, they’re going to be them and we’re going to be us and then making plays and being up for it will probably be the difference."
