“It’s halftime.”
That was the message Head Coach Jesse Marsch delivered to the media on Thursday as the New York Red Bulls head into to the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sunday, November 5.
New York hopes to become the seventh MLS franchise to overcome a 2-1 deficit in a two-legged series.
“There’s a lot to be played for, we’re looking forward to Sunday,” Marsch said. “It’s a shame that we haven’t learned more from past mistakes, but on another level now we have a chance to show that we can learn from it.
“I think everyone wants to play the game now. I know we have to talk about it, but I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to play.”
After surrendering two away goals at Red Bull Arena, New York will need to score multiple goals to advance beyond Sunday, a challenge Felipe said the team has fully embraced.
“I think we have a great opportunity,” Felipe said. “We know that we are capable of going anywhere and scoring two or three goals and I’m very confident that we’re going to go there and do that. Everything’s still up in the air.”
A victory on Sunday will be no easy task at BMO Field, where Toronto FC claimed the best home record during the MLS regular season, but the Red Bulls believe that with an improved performance this weekend, anything is possible.
“Sunday will be tight again,” Marsch said. “There’s no reason for them to try and open the game. I think they’ll have a similar gameplan.
“Their gameplan was very effective and we’ve got to think about how we can just be better with the ball and find ways to break them down.”
