Following their match in Salt Lake, New York’s road trip rolls on to Columbus. Next up, a matchup with the Crew with some payback on their minds.
After bowing out to the Ohio side in last year’s Eastern Conference Championship, the Red Bulls will be looking to nab all three points in a crucial conference clash on Saturday night.
On Friday afternoon, NewYorkRedBulls.com caught up with New York head coach Jesse Marsch to discuss all the happenings surrounding the team.
On how team has recovered from the RSL match:
“With the travel and heat we’ve been dealing with, we’re just trying to make sure that physically we’re ready to go. Today we spent a little time going over our specific game plan for Saturday. It’s going to be really good game. I feel like our group is clear and ready to go.”
On Lloyd Sam in his new role on Wednesday night:
“We know that Lloyd is such a good footballer. His mind for the game, the ease at which he puts together attacking plays, his ability to keep possession is great. We’ve used him there at different moments when we’re chasing the game in a 4-1-4-1 and move him alongside Sacha [Kljestan], so we know he’s capable of doing that. Overall, I thought he was quite good.”
On Columbus changing their game plan on Saturday night:
“We have our game plan put into place to challenge them, but we’re prepared for them to try a few different things. They’ve mixed up their tactics and approach against us in the past, so it sets up for a game that could be a chess match and a good challenge for us. It’s a team that we respect and I certainly respect the job that Gregg Berhalter has done there. We like these matchups because they challenge the way we do things, and then we can find out how good we are at what we do.
“Philosophically, things are on ends a little bit because they try to expand the field while we try to compress it. It’s always a really good challenge for our group. I know we’ll be up for it and ready to go.”
On returning regulars after heavy rotation on Wednesday:
“We’ll be able to put a good lineup on the field, one that’s closer to what we usually play. We know that this is a really important game within the conference, so we’re confident that we can put a group on the field that can go after the game in a good way.”
On Karl Ouimette’s loan to the Jacksonville Armada:
“We felt like it was going to be difficult for Karl to get first team minutes. And as much as we appreciate the experiences of being with the USL team, we also think it was important for him to go and try and establish himself at a new place. Jacksonville was really keen on getting him, so we think it will be a good step in his career to go somewhere new for a few months to see how good he can be there.
“Karl’s a bit older and more established now and our USL side is typically for our younger crew of guys. We have a lot of centerbacks down there already that we feel good about, so we want to be able to give those guys minutes and also give Karl a new opportunity.”
