There may very well be a healthy amount of playoff buzz centered on Saturday’s match against the New England Revolution, as New York looks to claim a postseason spot with a result against their Eastern Conference foe. But let’s also not forget one more component to this tilt: the rivalry.
“Boston and New York is always a traditional, great game,” head coach Mike Petke said. “It’s going to be a good game. I’m hoping for a big crowd. I’m hearing a sell-out. So it’ll be good. It’ll be motivation for us and hopefully we go out and do what we can do.”
All-time, New York holds a 20-26-14 record against the Revolution, but boasts an impressive 16-8-7 run at home. Adding to that fact, the Red Bulls have yet to lose a regular season match to the Revolution when playing on the pitch at Red Bull Arena, having gone 4-0-0 since the arena’s 2010 inception.
This season, the Red Bulls have posted a 1-0-1 record against their rival, including a commanding 4-1 win at Red Bull Arena on Apr. 20, and a hard-fought draw at Gillette Stadium on May 11. But a lot can change over the course of an MLS season, and not a single guy wearing a Red Bulls jersey is ignoring that fact.
“I think it would be foolish to think that the team that we played 4-1 is going to be that same team,” goalkeeper Luis Robles said earlier this week in a Q&A. “I feel like that was at a point in time where they didn’t know exactly what formation they wanted to play and who they had up top. Since then they’ve added a couple of players and they got a couple players back that are healthy and I think they have a very exciting attack.”
With only three games remaining on the schedule, along with a chance to punch a postseason ticket and stay alive in the Supporters’ Shield race, the Red Bulls will be hungry for a win this weekend against the Revs. It won’t be easy though, especially when you consider New England’s drive to stay alive in the playoff hunt.
“They’re chasing a playoff space, so it won’t be an easy game,” Red Bulls captain Thierry Henry said. “It’s never an easy game against them. But we are taking it step by step, we just want to carry on with what we’re doing at the moment.”
The Red Bulls take on the rival Revolution Saturday at Red Bull Arena. Get tickets now as New York hopes to claim a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs in front of the home crowd. Visit Red Bulls Ticket Central or call 877.RB.SOCCER to secure your seats now.
