Coming off the rough loss to Toronto FC last week, the Union head up I-95 to take on Red Bull New York for the first time at brand new Red Bull Arena.
This should become one of the top rivalries in MLS, along with the Union and D.C. United. Funny that almost everyone agrees that the Union will instantly become part of the top rivalries in American soccer. Guess the league has been waiting on Philly just as long as Philly has been waiting on MLS to arrive.
In an interesting scheduling quirk, these two clubs will play twice in a span of 5 days. Today’s game is a regular MLS match, but the two teams also play on Tuesday the 27th in a preliminary for the U.S. Open Cup. Hell of a way to get a rivalry off the ground with two matches in 5 days.
Without Danny Califf for this game due to his clothesline of a Toronto player and subsequent red card, the U will have to step up. Calif shaved off his mohawk after that game, but hopefully that doesn’t turn down his aggressiveness. He sets the tempo for the Union’s physical play and he’ll be missed.
While GK Chris Seitz has gotten off to a rough start, letting in a few soft goals, he has the backing of Piotr Nowak as this team’s goalie. Seitz is young and will have some rough stretches, but so will the team as a whole. He’s got talent and will improve over the course of the season. RBNY is a tough team and will challenge him, but it will be up to the defense to help him out. That will be particularly difficult with Califf’s absence.
While the win over D.C. United was nice, it’s going to be hard for the Union to keep up with RBNY in this one. NY is off to a great start and will be taking on a Union team that is shorthanded. Nowak will have to make a choice on who will replace Califf, and it better not be Shavar Thomas. He came on late in the match against Toronto and looked terrible. He was way to slow and couldn’t preserve the tie.
The offense has looked like they’re starting to get comfortable up front after playing a few games. Sebastien Le Toux and Alejandro Moreno are playing very well and will be looked at to sore goals for this team all season.
With the Sons of Ben traveling up to Red Bull Arena, the Union will have a solid section of supporters for this match. It will be tough for this young Union team to keep up with RBNY. When you break it down though, these two teams have something very similar in common. Neither has won an MLS Cup.
Nowak will have his team prepared for this. He loves rivalries and will play this one up, just as he did the D.C. match. It will be a hard fought and physical game, but look for RBNY to take a close match.
