HANOVER, N.J. – Throughout the 2015 campaign, the New York Red Bulls have not been afraid to tip their hand when it comes to tactics and philosophy. And while their up-tempo, high press style of play has been well documented, it’s not exactly foolproof.
The Red Bulls’ style has left them particularly susceptible against counterattacking sides; watching both of their recent tilts against the Chicago Fire would tell you as much. That vulnerability, which can be somewhat expected given how far up the pitch the Red Bulls often find themselves, is a concern that the team is certainly aware of.
“That’s one of our Achilles’ heels,” captain Dax McCarty told MLSsoccer.com. “If we don’t play rest defense well, we’re going to get burned.”
Playing better rest defense is one measure that New York is hoping can mitigate some of those concerns. But what exactly is it?
“It’s about, while we have the ball, making sure that we condense the field and don’t give players room to catch balls and counter,” head coach Jesse Marsch explained.
Added McCarty: “When we have the ball and we’re going forward, we try to make sure that we – our center backs especially – know where their dangerous players are, whether that be their strikers or attacking midfielders.”
New York struggled with their rest defense on Friday night, allowing Chicago to hit for two early goals before coming back to beat the Fire 3-2 at Red Bull Arena. After the game, Marsch alluded to the fact that many of the teams left on the Red Bulls’ schedule could pose a threat to their defense in transition.
They’ll get their first chance to show some improvement at the New England Revolution on Wednesday night (7:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE). The Revs did plenty of damage on the counter in the first meeting between the sides, grabbing two goals against the Red Bulls in a 2-1 win at Gillette Stadium on May 2. Lee Nguyen, Charlie Davies, Teal Bunbury, Diego Fagundez and Juan Agudelo have the skills to hit the Red Bulls on the counter again on Wednesday, with New York going back to the drawing board to improve their rest defense.
“Our rest defense has to be better,” defender Matt Miazga admitted. “Everyone knows their role in this system, but it doesn’t come out perfect every time. We’ll learn from it and move forward to get ready for New England.”
