Ah, the counterattack. It’s a beautiful thing to watch in soccer. The unexpected possession, the quick outlet pass and the speed of the break against a stunned and usually outnumbered defense.
Unfortunately for the Red Bulls, the counterattack has been something they have been susceptible to far too often this season, and usually with unwelcome results. So as they prepare for their final game of the regular season on Sunday, against a Chicago Fire team that likely can’t wait until the season is over, the Red Bulls have to be on guard for one basic thing.
That’s right, the counterattack.
In their two games with the Fire this season, both within the past two months, the Red Bulls have been hit on the counter with devastating results. With so much on the line on Sunday – a victory would clinch the Supporters’ Shield and home field advantage throughout the playoffs – preventing the Fire from duplicating their success on the counter is expected to be the No. 1 priority.
“It certainly has given us some problems with the way that we play,” Red Bulls midfielder Dax McCarty said. “If you look at all of the goals we’ve given up on the counterattack, there are little mistakes that are made before the ball even gets close to our own goal that we need to be able to cut out. If we want to be successful in the playoffs, and we want to be a good team, we need to be able to make plays higher up the field so we’re not exposed so much in the back.
“The past goal or two that we’ve conceded have just been little mistakes, whether it’s a missed tackle, whether it’s guys not getting back into position quick enough. The way we play requires a high level of fitness and it requires a lot of energy, and you have to make sure that you put in that energy on both sides of the ball, not just attacking, but defending, too.”
And with the Red Bulls, defending is a team concept, not just the back line.
“It’s not just on the back four, it’s not just on the midfielders, it’s on every single player on the field,”
McCarty said. “If we have a chance to win the ball back right away after we lost it we have to take those opportunities and that’s the way we’re going to be successful and stop teams counterattacking us.”
In their first game, a 3-2 Fire victory Aug. 26 in Bridgeview, Ill., forwards Kennedy Igboananike (two goals) and Gilberto (two assists) did the damage for the Fire, who were ahead, 2-1, at halftime and netted the winner by Igboananike in the 73rd minute.
In the second game, a 3-2 Red Bulls win Sept. 11 at Red Bull Arena, the Red Bulls were down, 2-0, after 26 minutes and rallied to win. Fire midfielder Michael Stephens had three assists in the two games.
Defender Matt Miazga expects more of the same. Miazga missed the past four games, two with the U.S. Under-23 team for Olympic qualifying and two for a red card suspension, and hopes to see action Sunday to be up to speed for the playoffs.
“They have a very dangerous front three or front two, it depends on how they play,” he said. “They’re very dangerous going forward. They have guys that are calm in Gilberto and Igboananike that are very fast and very skillful players, so we’re going to look to be mindful of where those players are and be aware. Every team in this league poses a threat in their own way.”
Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch says the team will play the way it always does, and hopes it can hit the Fire quickly the way they did Sunday against the Philadelphia Union, when two goals in the first four minutes effectively ended the game and knocked the will out of the Union.
“We stepped on the field with urgency from the start and knew that it was an important match, and that the longer you keep Philly around the more that they get into the game,” he said. “Scoring like we did early, both goals, meant they were going to have to come out and chase the game a little bit, which is a situation that we like to be in tactically and from the mentality of what we have.
“That will be important in Chicago, too. It’s a team that knows that they match up well against us in certain ways and have had success against us. Again, it’s another game where we’re not afraid of the situation, we’re not afraid of Chicago. We know that we respect them. We’re going to step on the field and go after things, and we’re going to make sure that continues to be a huge part of our identity.”
Marsch is well aware of the Fire’s counterattacking ability, but he doesn’t want his team to be so focused on it that players lose track of their basic defensive responsibilities.
“We don’t want to be so overzealous and so emotional in the game that we leave ourselves susceptible to give up chances,” he said. “That’s been a talking point within our group. We’re committed, we want this, we’re going after it, but let’s do it in a smart way tactically, with the mentality that we have, to make sure that in all ways that we’re on top of what makes us good and in doing so we don’t get overzealous.
“Our guys know that. Some of this kind of conversation has come from them. They think we’re at our best when we are most concentrated and focused at exactly what makes us good, the details. Bradley (Wright-Phillips) said to me ‘It’s the details that make us good,’ and as a coach I was like, I think I almost shed a tear.
“But they get it. They understand it. That’s my point. The leadership within this team, a lot of these guys have been in this situation before. They know what it takes to be successful, and our ability to go after it in a very focused way is what’s going to make us successful.”
