The New York Red Bulls are quickly turning their attention to FC Cincinnati for Tuesday night's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal game.
Head Coach Jesse Marsch subbed out Bradley Wright-Phillips for Gonzalo Veron in the 68th minute after the Red Bulls grabbed the lead a few minutes earlier on Wright-Phillips' goal.
Marsch said that was definitely a move with Tuesday night in mind.
"I knew in general, we wanted to play a good team, because this was an important game, but that we needed to find ways to get a lead, and then see if we could make adjustments to get through the game, and also, make sure that we were going to have our legs on Tuesday," he said.
New York took advantage of all three subs in their 3-1 win, exchanging Damien Perrinelle for Aurelien Collin and Kemar Lawrence for Connor Lade later in the second half. Both Collin and Lade returned to the gameday roster after recovering from injuries.
"Everyone around here is really excited for Tuesday," Marsch said. "Really excited for a big game against a club and a team we don't really know, and it's going to be in a stadium that there's going to be more energy in that stadium than maybe we felt all year, and a team that's playing in the most important game in many of their lives."
Marsch added it's also the most important match of much of his team will have played in as well.
FC Cincy has announced a sellout of Nippert Stadium in advance of the game, clearing out of tickets in less than a day.
"It sets up to be a great match and a fun match and one that we're going to take very seriously and we know is very important," Marsch said.
In an odd quirk of scheduling, USL-side FC Cincinnati will take on New York Red Bulls II just four days after meeting the first team in the Open Cup.
