HARRISON – The New York Red Bulls (10-10-6) are set for their second straight match against the Philadelphia Union (15-5-6) Saturday. New York has lost both of its contests vs Philadelphia this season, falling 2-0 on July 12 and Wednesday 3-2 in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.
It’s not often that two teams face each other in back-to-back matches. It’s also not common to see the unique schedule anomaly that took place between both squads.
The week on July 6 was supposed to see the teams meet twice in one week. But their U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match was postponed to this past Wednesday because of terrible weather that afflicted Philly on July 9. Now the week of August 10 will see their second MLS matchup of the season and third overall on Saturday.
Even with New York getting eliminated on Wednesday from the Open Cup tournament, it wasn’t necessarily a bad performance from them. New York’s manager Sandro Schwarz’ younger starting eleven proved to equal the quality they saw from the home Philly side. This was seen early on when midfielder Wiki Carmona scored a spectacular goal to give New York an early 1-0 lead.
But a relentless comeback from the Union proved to be too much for New York and now they go at it for a third time on Saturday. It will have to be third times the charm or even seventeenth for New York as Philadelphia has totally controlled the series. Fans and analysts alike have been shocked and confused at how New York has not beaten the Union since 2019.
New York midfielder and New Jersey native Peter Stroud believed that Wednesday showed what it takes to eventually get a victory over their rivals, potentially on Saturday.
“Tomorrow it’s about winning the game in both boxes,” Stroud spoke to the media on Friday. “I think it’s the most important thing for us. I think on Wednesday we showed that we can put together a very strong performance against this team.”
Injury wise, it has gotten worse for the Red Bulls. Forward Eric Choupo-Moting was banged up following Wednesday’s loss and there was still more devastating news to follow. Goalkeeper AJ Marcucci, who had played well this season, was confirmed to rupture his ACL during Wednesday’s match.
Schwarz spoke about the loss of his backup goalkeeper for the season during Friday’s prematch press conference.
“It’s really tough for all of us, for the whole group,” Schwarz said. “The whole club will support him to help him that he’s coming back stronger.”
On Choupo-Moting’s status, that remained more of a question for Schwarz to see if he will be healthy for Saturday’s match. Schwarz also included other players absent from Wednesday’s match in his statement including midfielders Mohammed Sofo and Ronald Donkor.
“We have to decide tomorrow and then to be ready with our starting lineup and also then with our options on the bench.”
On the Union side of things, with a date to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup confirmed, they’ll continue their quest to earn the Supporters’ Shield. With 51 points and eight matches to go in regular competition, their journey to earning their second Shield is within distance.
Depending on the status of Choupo-Moting, it might be another negative result for New York which at this point of the season is not great. However, a healthy Choupo-Moting gives New York a chance like on Wednesday and all season. With the added luxury of playing the Union a third time this season, something has to finally go right for New York in this series.
Kickoff for Saturday’s match is set for 7:30 p.m. on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
