Red Bull New York were humbled in a 3-1 home defeat to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night that felt all too similar to July’s meeting at Subaru Park.
Both matches ended with an identical scoreline that illustrates the opposite directions that both clubs have taken since the World Cup break.
The Union extended their undefeated streak to seven consecutive matches since Ryan Richter was named interim head coach. New York has lost five times, drawn once and won once over the same stretch.
Red Bull New York Struggles Continue After World Cup Break
Red Bull New York head coach Michael Bradley acknowledged that his team is currently going through a difficult patch, but insisted there is no value in dwelling on its recent results.
“Play well, do a lot of good things, but don’t score,” he said in his postmatch press conference. “Don’t find a way to tilt the bar in your favor and then other teams, by virtue of the way they play, or how they go about things, are able to gain a little bit of an edge, or go ahead in a game.
“In those periods, it can feel like you’re working really hard and doing a lot, but getting very little in return. So, yeah, that’s the period that we’re in right now. That’s reality and there is no use feeling sorry for ourselves. There’s no use pointing fingers at anyone or anything.
“We have to be so strong and so committed in who we are and how we go about things and we have to be able to look at ourselves and find the right way to turn the tide.”
Emil Forsberg: ‘We Have to Win Games’
Captain Emil Forsberg was the only Red Bull New York player to speak following the defeat.
“For me as a captain, I can’t move around it that we have to do better, there’s no way around it,” Forsberg said. “I can’t say I’m this or that, I think, honestly, it’s just about doing better as a team and moving forward – winning games.
“I know, and everybody speaks about it, we have a young team and we have a lot of young players, but in the end it’s about winning games, and as a captain, that’s where I take responsibility, we have to win games, and there’s no way around it.”
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s 74th-minute goal spared the Red Bulls the indignity of being shut out at home.
Red Bull New York II winger Dennis Nelich, who was added on a short-term agreement ahead of tonight’s match, was not summoned from the bench.
The Red Bulls will begin a four-game road trip next Saturday in Seattle when they visit Seattle Sounders FC at Lumen Field.
Bradley ended his press conference by promising that “our best is still to come.”
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