The Red Bulls are looking to bounce back from their first truly 2009-like performance of 2010; and they’ll have to do it with a young reserve lineup against a New England team they just can’t beat. If they plan on winning the U.S. Open Cup for their first-ever championship, they’ll have to earn it the hard way.
They host the Revolution in a preliminary round match at 8 p.m. tomorrow. If they win, they’ll host Colorado on May 26 for a berth in the Open Cup proper and the Round of 16. But history _ both distant and recent _ show that victory over New England is no forgone conclusion.
After seeing right back Luke Sassano recklessly get sent off after just 13 minutes Saturday _ his first MLS start of the season _ the Red Bulls got punished 4-0 in San Jose. Tomorrow they’ll try to bounce back facing their nemesis, a Revolution squad against which they’re 0-8-7 since Oct. 22, 2005.
“I don’t know if the priority is the Cup for (New England); but our team is probably good enough to get a win,” said coach Hans Backe, who’ll essentially field the same young reserve team that beat Philadelphia 2-1 in its first play-in, thanks to a brace from rookie forward Conor Chinn.
“I think as long as the team plays well, I’ll be happy. I think the guys are ready, excited. I think it will be a good game (tonight),” said Chinn. “All the guys are very professional, and when we’re given the opportunity to either start or play in a professional game, everyone’s gunning to win. If we keep doing well, it’ll just be more games for us to get more playing time.”
The Red Bulls will pair Chinn with John Wolyniec up front tomorrow, with 17-year-old Juan Agudelo out of the lineup because he’s just played for the academy team and has a workload for the U.S. Under-20 team as well.
They’ll start Greg Sutton in goal, behind a back four of Danleigh Borman, Carlos Mendes, Andy Boyens and Chris Albright. The latter is back after missing last weekend’s game, his wife Leah giving birth to their son Liam. The midfield will be Jeremy Hall, Tony Tchani, Sinisa Ubiparipovic and Brian Nielsen.
Tchani is expected to play a half, while Nielsen has improved his questionable conditioning but could be limited by a minor hamstring issue. Welsh veteran Carl Robinson is out of the lineup, resting his twice-drained knee for Saturday’s league tilt vs. Seattle.
The Revolution _ 2-5-1 in-league and eight points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Red Bulls _ come in shorthanded and without franchise player Shalrie Joseph, with the star midfielder on an indefinite leave of absence and in a substance abuse program.
