Columbus Crew Vs New York Red Bulls: 3 things we learned – Crew the team to beat
2. Red Bulls attacking woes worrying
The 101 minutes against the Columbus Crew were exactly what fans of the New York Red Bulls were scared of seeing from their team in 2020. Zero shots on target in that amount of time would have been unheard of just two years ago, and yet now, it seems almost normal.
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After moving on from all-time leading goalscorer Bradley Wright-Phillips in the offseason, the Red Bulls put trust in NYRB II graduates Tom Barlow and Brian White. Fans were skeptical, and this performance is a pretty good example of why their fears were valid.
Barlow’s 45 minutes were forgetful, only making real contributions as a target for keeper David Jensen’s goal kicks. White, who replaced Barlow at half-time, didn’t bring much of anything new to the table either.
Besides White and Barlow, the Red Bulls are pretty limited with their striking options. Mathias Jorgensen, who spent most of 2019 in with NYRB II and missed out on Thursday due to a hamstring injury, is Chris Armas’ only other viable player.
In what will likely be a more meaningful game than the more eye-grabbing Columbus Crew vs Atlanta United, the Red Bulls will take on FC Cincinnati to see who will be joining Caleb Porter’s side as graduates of Group E.
We’ll likely see a pairing from the choices of Royer, White and Barlow in the same 4-4-2 formation, however against a backline that has proven to leak goals, it is a good time for these three to find the back of the net.