Red Bull New York head coach Michael Bradley isn’t taking the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 opponents, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, lightly.
“We’ve spent a lot of time with Pittsburgh over the last few days,” he said during his pre-match press conference. “It’s a really good team, obviously, a big tradition of success. They [won] the USL Championship last year. It’s a team that, over the years, has a real track record in the Open Cup of playing well and beating MLS teams.”
The first-year MLS head coach vowed that the Red Bulls will be fully prepared for the challenge of facing the upset-minded Riverhounds, who will enter Sports Illustrated Stadium on Wednesday believing that they have every chance of advancing to the last 16.
Bradley on Pittsburgh Riverhounds: ‘We Give Them Full Respect’
The Riverhounds currently sit in eighth place in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference. Last season, Pittsburgh captured its first-ever USL Championship title and has often played spoiler when drawn against MLS teams in the 111-year-old knockout competition.
“We give them full respect,” Bradley stated. “We took the players through a good amount of video to make sure that we’re 100 percent ready for what’s coming, and 100 percent ready to step on the field and play our football to do everything that we need to do to make sure that we advance a round further.
“We’re excited to start a new competition. Obviously, the Open Cup has a big history, has a long history in the United States, and we are committed to taking every minute as seriously as possible so that we can give ourselves a real chance to be there in the end.”
Bradley Discusses Squad Selection Ahead of Pittsburgh Clash
South Ward Central asked Bradley about whether he is leaning toward playing a more youthful starting XI given the demands of the MLS season, fixture congestion and the overall progression of the club’s promising reserve side talents.
“It’s a balance,” he responded. “We are going to put a really strong team on the field, so we’re not just resting or rotating guys for the sake of it. So we create a really good environment every day. We create an environment that challenges the players to compete, that challenges them to be sharp and to be into it, to take our ideas and to really bring them to life.
“Obviously, before every game, you evaluate and you make decisions based on what things look like every day, and you make decisions based on who you think gives the group the best chance to step on the field and really go after things and be successful. We will do the exact same and make sure that we have a team on the field that’s ready to really go after it.”
Potential Hudson River Derby Awaits Red Bulls in U.S. Open Cup Round of 16
Should Red Bull New York advance, a renewal of the Hudson River Derby will await them in the Round of 16.
In that scenario, the Red Bulls would host rivals NYCFC on either April 28 or 29 – and what a tasty match that would be, but they have to get there first.
Bradley and his coaching staff are keeping the players focused on the task at hand. That kind of mentality will be vital against a Pittsburgh side that hopes to pull off a shock in Harrison on Wednesday.
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