Most managers won’t acknowledge a big matchup as a statement game or a benchmark test, resorting to coachspeak and clichés about every game counting the same. Not rookie coach Mike Petke, who admits his first-place Red Bulls’ Sunday tilt vs. defending MLS Cup champion LA is indeed a benchmark.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely. (They’re) good every year with the talent they have, the coach they have,’’ Petke said of 1 p.m. ESPN2 showdown against the two-time defending champion Galaxy. It’s a game his team should be rested for, having not played since last Saturday while LA will have to play midweek.
Thierry Henry and Jamison Olave sat out last weekend’s tie in New England, while Tim Cahill played just a half and Dax McCarty was an unused sub, coming back from his torn quad. Petke said McCarty practiced fully today with no issues, and that the defensive midfielder’s quad was “coming along great,’’ but that he couldn’t commit to whether he’d start Sunday against the Galaxy.
“Dax is in full training today. I think rest of his body is not responded (100% yet) but he did alright,’’ said Petke, who took pains to clarify that wasn’t unexpected. “That’s not a story. If a player goes down with an injury, and has been working hard on the sideline, getting back to the grind (you expect that).
“It’s all about fitness…I think I’m pretty sure he’ll be on 18, but whether he’ll start I don’t know. How much he plays will be determined this week in how he looks, how he feels getting ready for 90. Only a couple times this year have I knowingly gone out and started a player I was sure could not play 90 minutes. I need players who can play the whole 90.’’
If that’s not the case, McCarty would be likely to be used as a reserve. That would simply delay Petke the tough decision of what to do with his crowded central midfield of McCarty, Juninho and Cahill a little longer.
He said he’s not likely to change formations to accommodate that trio, or any specific player, although he might do it based on matchups against another team.
“I don’t think I’d change for a player; maybe for who we playing,’’ said Petke. “So at end of the day, it’s about getting the best players on the field; but it could also be about (keeping) the rotation.’’
Petke did also address Cahill’s looming prolonged absence for Australia’s World Cup qualifying campaign, expecting the midfielder to be available for the May 26 game against the Crew but bracing to lose him for the June 1 tilt vs. Vancouver.
“He’ll be here trough Columbus. There is a question mark for Vancouver. It’s a guess, but I anticipate he would not be available. (Their) fate will be decided in early to mid-June, so that’s what we’re looking at right now.’’
Petke added that Ryan Meara has been recovering and he hopes the young second-year goalkeeper can be fit enough to make the 18-man roster within the next month. With the Red Bulls playing their US Open Cup opener on May 28, that might be too ambitious, but he said using Meara as that competition draws on was a definite possibility.
