The last time the Red Bulls traveled to RFK Stadium, they suffered a humiliating 4-1 beating to rival D.C. United. It’s a loss that still stings them, and coach Hans Backe says it should — just as it should drive them to set things right tonight (8:00, MSG Plus), with Thierry Henry returning from paternity leave.
“It’s got to be a mentality that we’re getting down to the wire now, it’s crunch time, it’s playoff time,” midfielder Dax McCarty said. “A starting point for us is to defend well, keep clean sheets. We need to play for a little bit of pride. They beat us 4-1 down there earlier in the season. It’s a punch in the gut. We have to go down there and make sure we don’t give up an early goal. That’s been our Achilles heel.’’
Backe said the April 22 loss still stings, but felt breaking a three-game road losing skid Sunday helps.
“[The April loss] could be a motivating factor, because we had a very sloppy game,” Backe said. “A rivalry between the teams should be a motivating factor. They outplayed us. And the tie in Kansas City means a lot going into this game.’’