HANOVER, N.J. – When it comes to the MLS Cup Playoffs, momentum can play a big role, but it isn’t the only thing required for success.
Just ask D.C. United.
Finishing the season strong, the capital club looked to be one of the more dangerous teams heading into the playoffs. With a resurgent attack led by the likes of Lloyd Sam, Patrick Mullins and Luciano Acosta, the black and red had every reason to think their dominant form would continue into the postseason.
The Montreal Impact had other ideas.
Implementing their counter-attacking style to near perfection, the Canadian outfit traveled to RFK Stadium and walked out with a convincing 4-2 victory to ensure an Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup with the Red Bulls.
Perhaps the only team in more impressive form, New York will travel to Montreal riding a 20-game unbeaten streak over all competitions, and confidence is unsurprisingly quite high. But with United’s downfall serving as a cautionary tale, don’t expect the Red Bulls to rest on their laurels.
“Talk is cheap,” head coach Jesse Marsch said bluntly. “You prove yourself by your performances, so we’re very aware based off of everything that we’ve been through. We don’t talk too much in the press; we’re proud of who we are and we try to stick to who we are. But that doesn’t get you any consolation awards. What gets you awards is winning games on gameday.”
Last suffering defeat on July 3, their impressive form has served them well over the last few months en route to a second straight Eastern Conference regular season title. But for as well as they have been playing, the team is under no illusions, admitting that there is still plenty of work to be done.
“Going 20 games undefeated is really important and we’re all very proud of it. But when it comes to the playoffs, all of that goes out the window,” midfielder Alex Muyl said after training on Friday afternoon. “Each series is do-or-die, so just because we’ve been good in the regular season it doesn’t mean we don’t have another gear that we can go to. There’s more improvement ahead of us.”
Their first test will come on the road in this home-and-home series as the Red Bulls will head to Stade Saputo for Sunday’s 3PM clash before returning to Red Bull Arena the following Sunday. Setting the tone will be of the utmost importance for a New York side to looking to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season, and sticking to their game plan will be the key.
“That’s the beauty of the playoffs. It’s about two games at a time,” defender Aurelien Collin said. “Of course, the past has been great, but it’s about the present. We can use this for confidence, but we still have to go there and play our football. If we keep our discipline, we’ll be good.”
Added Marsch: “We know it’ll be a big challenge. We respect Montreal and we know they’ll have a good crowd. It’s a tough place to play, it’ll be cold; it’ll be difficult in every sense of the word, but that’s what we’re excited for.
