The Good, The Bad, and the Mostly Ugly: RBNY Draw Cinci at Home, 0-0
With some decent weather in the tristate area and FC Cincinnati coming to Red Bull Arena, hopes were high going into this Wednesday night contest. Alas, it would be another frustrating night for the Red Bulls, as the game would end in a scoreless draw. The Red Bull faithful let their frustrations be known at the end of the game, showering the players with a hail of boos and a flurry of negative thoughts via social media following the final whistle. Put simply, outside of the first 10-15 minutes, this game lacked heart and character for both sides. Neither team had any standout performances or big time moments – things that usually make writing a game review easier and more colorful. Cinci seemed content to park the bus and escape with a draw, while RBNY failed to find that final pass, touch or shot that would put them over the top. I don’t need a heat map of ball movement or post-game statistics to know that the ball barely left the midfield. It really seemed that no one was willing to take chances and, when they did, no one was clinical enough to turn these into meaningful chances – that’s why roughly 80% of this game was likely played around the center circle.
“Put simply, outside of the first 10-15 minutes, this game lacked heart and character for both sides.”
Overall, from the point of view of a Red Bull fan, it was an annoying performance for the home side. As I mentioned in my last article (which you can read here), this Red Bull team is not the same as it was at the beginning of the year – their fight, energy and character is completely gone. While I understand that some of this is due to a lack of depth and the inability to effectively rotate the squad for mid-week matches, which has been caused by the numerous injuries RBNY have suffered at multiple positions, it seems like the team has lost the will to fight. I don’t feel like we need to fire everyone or burn it down and start over, but I really do want to see some changes throughout the entire teams from a mentality perspective. I continue to remind myself that this was always a rebuild year and I shouldn't have gotten my hopes and expectations so high – in a sense, these results have brought me back down to earth. I feel like New York is just a few returning players away from being able to get back to their winning ways. However, I also feel that some of the Red Bulls’ recent issues lie on the shoulders of the coaching staff, who are responsible for getting players back into the right mindset. If RBNY continue to trend downward, the chorus of boos, negative chants and social media criticism will only grow louder. With that said, I hope the frustration of the fans, which can now be seen and heard, will help RBNY understand the expectations of the fan base and spark this team. If nothing else, the Red Bull faithful deserve better.
As always I am here for it all.
