And then the Supporters’ Shield came down to Decision Day, pres. by AT&T.
On October 28, the New York Red Bulls will square off against Orlando City SC, and with a win, and an Atlanta United loss, the Red Bulls would secure their third Supporters’ Shield since 2013 (2013, 2015).
Orlando City comes into Red Bull Arena, having won their last match against Columbus Crew SC 2-1, and will be looking to spoil New York’s chances in securing the Supporters’ Shield.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Head Coach Chris Armas said after speaking with the media on Wednesday. “Every game is tough right now. In the playoffs, not in the playoffs, it really doesn’t matter. The guys know the result Orlando just had and in maybe a decisive way they played against Columbus and took those points, so they’ll be tough. We’ll be prepared to play against them.”
The Red Bulls enter the match undefeated in their last five matches, winning four and tying once, which according to Armas is due to the overall defense being played by the team.
“Defensively, I would say that we are playing our best,” Armas said. “Not just the backline, but around the field. Even this last game I think where Philadelphia had a lot more possession that we eliminated a lot of their clear chances. We talked about it after, the guys moving and defending as a unit I thought was impressive.”
Bradley Wright-Phillips wants the club to disregard their record and treat this match at home the same way they’d treated it when Atlanta came to town on September 30.
“We’re at home, obviously we know their record isn’t great, but they’ve got dangerous players,” Wright-Phillips said. “Sasha’s [Kljestan] not going to want come here and lose, so we have to treat them like we’d treat Atlanta and hopefully get the three points.”
The easiest way for the Red Bulls to capture the Supporters’ Shield will be to win at home, and Atlanta United lose against Toronto FC, but if Atlanta defeats Toronto, the Red Bulls won’t be hanging their heads according to Kaku.
“If they win the Supporters’ Shield that’s totally fine, because at the end of the day we have bigger goals in sight, which is winning the MLS Cup,” Kaku said.
