For this edition of Oppo Research, Hudson River Blue asked Michael Battista of Hudson River Blue (and other fine soccer publications) to give us the dirt on the New Jersey Red Bulls, New York City FC’s opponent in Matchday 12 tomorrow night. That’s right, the answers are coming from inside the house.
Red Bulls fans will be the first to admit their club are a mess this season: Head coach sacked, striker suspended, fan protests. The team are off to their worst start in memory, with just one win after 11 played. But the Red Bulls have a way of pwning New York City, and historically dominating their cross-state rivals in the Hudson River Derby.
Read on to see what Battista has to say in this NYCFC vs Red Bulls game preview.
Hudson River Blue: The Red Bulls are off to their worst start in memory, the front office just fired former head coach Gerhard Struber on Monday, and now Troy Lesesne is the interim head coach. Will this move reset the course? Or are the club in free fall?
Michael Battista: The club was fully in free fall before Monday’s announcement and it’s still too early to say the team has pulled out of it. But Troy Lesene got his first win as an MLS head coach in the US Open Cup, a tournament he’s very familiar with and one that’s worth it to almost any team, and that has fans feeling more optimistic. He even called the Fourth Round match a chance to “reset” the season. The team still struggles to score and that was evident by all the missed chances on Tuesday night against DC United at Montclair State. The forward third is a scary place where Cory Burke and Tom Barlow scuff shots. Plus with all the injuries and Dante Vanzeir still being suspended, it’s hard to be fully convinced things are reset. But I and the nearly three thousand fans that attended Tuesday can definitely say things felt different.
