Red Bull New York looks to get back to winning ways when they travel north of the border to face Toronto FC on Saturday. Ahead of what’s expected to be a tightly-contested affair at BMO Field, MLS on Apple TV studio and match analyst Sacha Kljestan joined South Ward Central to preview the match.
The Red Bulls were dealt a shocking 3-0 home defeat by CF Montréal last Sunday and currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, while Toronto moved into ninth position after earning a 1-0 road victory over FC Cincinnati.
Kljestan expects there to be little separating the sides when the match kicks off at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.
“Red Bulls are going to have more possession on the road, I think they’re a better possession team than Toronto is,” Kljestan stated. “They’re going to try to control the game with the ball through the midfield. I do think it’s going to be a pretty good game of two evenly matched teams at this point.”
Toronto grabbed a late winner last Sunday thanks to a superb through ball that Richie Laryea sent in the path of forward Dániel Sallói, who scored in the 85th minute to stun onlookers at TQL Stadium.
“Toronto is coming off a very good win in Cincinnati on Sunday,” Kljestan said. “So they’ll be having a little bit more confidence. Obviously, if Josh Sargent is in the team, it’s going to make everyone feel more confident that they’ve got somebody up front who can put the ball in the back of the net.”
“They were very organized against Cincinnati. The goal came from a pretty nice individual play of transition from Laryea because he’s so calm on the ball and can wiggle out of pressure. He hits a good line-splitting pass to Sallói, who is constantly on the move. He’s always starting on the left and making those runs in behind.”
Toronto FC head coach Robin Fraser told reporters that Sargent will be available for selection for Saturday’s match, though it is unclear whether the club record signing will debut in the starting XI or be summoned from the bench.
“They’re an organized team, and they’re going to get more dangerous if you get Sargent to be playing up front with [Djordje] Mihailovic underneath him,” Kljestan said. “That’s a really good No. 9, No. 10 combo.”
Red Bull New York Looks to Bounce Back
Red Bull New York clearly missed the stabilizing presence of defender Dylan Nealis and the impact of midfielder Ronald Donkor in the defeat to Montreal. Red Bull head coach Michael Bradley stated that both players are being evaluated and could be game-time decisions.
“Last week was a bit of what you get when you play a lot of young players, you’re definitely going to get some ups and some downs,” Kljestan explained. “Most teams in MLS, when they get some injuries, they drop their level a little bit. They missed Dylan Nealis last game for sure, and then not an experienced player per se, but they also missed Ronald Donkor in the midfield.”
It has already been a busy transfer window for the Red Bulls, and Kljestan believes that further reinforcements are needed to strengthen Bradley’s squad.
“I think they probably need some more depth, particularly in the midfield and in the center-back position — players that they can count on to play some minutes when everybody isn’t healthy,” he said. “My question going into this season for the Red Bulls, was how would their midfield look? Obviously, Adri Mehmeti has looked very good. I think in the last game, he wasn’t his best but I could also say the same about all the other younger players that the game against Montreal wasn’t their best which you’re gonna get when you play young players they’re gonna have down games for sure but I do think they can probably use another very good center mid and at least one more good center-back.”
Red Bulls Need More From Cowell & Ruvalcaba
While veteran creative midfielder Emil Forsberg continues to be the key man for New York, Kljestan hopes to see improved performances from wingers Cade Cowell and Jorge Ruvalcaba as they settle into Bradley’s front-foot attacking, high-tempo system.
“They’ve been dangerous in different parts of the first three games, but the final product isn’t there yet,” he said. “That’s been the knock on Cowell since he came into MLS, and then when he went on to Mexico — it’s that he looks dangerous, he’s fast, he can dribble by players, but does he get you goals and assists? Ruvalcaba, same thing. He’s a lot slighter than Cade Cowell. Maybe a little bit of a smarter player, more of a technical player, but in the end, when you play in a 4-3-3 formation, you need your wingers to get you goals and get you assists. That’s what matters in the game.
“They look dangerous, but are they being efficient yet in the final third? I’d say through three games, the answer is no, but I do think that Michael Bradley has a way of playing that is going to help these guys and lends itself to getting them to be consistently running behind the backline and running at the backline and trying to set up plays in the final third.”
Forsberg possesses the qualities that can turn a match in an instant, but the Red Bulls need more game changers besides their talismanic captain and promising 17-year-old forward Julian Hall.
With less reliance placed on 36-year-old forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Bradley opting for a 4-3-3 designed to bring out the best in Cowell and Ruvalcaba, the highly-touted pair of wingers will need to start providing more than a single goal contribution between them.
Should Ruvalcaba and Cowell add more end product to the Red Bull attack, it could make the difference on Saturday.
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