Sports

Red Bulls’ Backe: rookie Lade absolutely phenomenal

It’s taken Connor Lade less than a single season to go from DNP to team MVP, according to no less an authority than Thierry Henry. The Red Bulls’ diminutive rookie was an unheralded academy signee, didn’t even appear in their first five games, and now is one of the first names coach Hans Backe pencils in the lineup.

“He’s starting to be a key player for us,’’ said Backe, who will rely on Lade’s energy during the stretch run, be it in midfield or defense. “We’ve played I think it’s 24 games or something like that, and he’s one of the guys you put first on the starting lineup, whether it’s at the wide left position or as a right fullback.

“He’s been absolutely phenomenal. Coming to us from our Academy directly, the first season with form like this, you don’t see that very often in professional football.’’

When asked what that kind of praise from his veteran Swedish manager meant to him, the rookie from St. John’s and Morristown (NJ) said it just buoyed his confidence.

“I’m just trying to be there in any spot they need. Being my first year, I’m trying to get on the field,’’ said Lade.

“It means a lot that he has the confidence in me to put me on the field. It’s what I work for everyday, just to get as much time as I can; and fortunately enough I’ve been in every game so far this last stretch. I’m just working hard to stay there because that’s exactly where I want to be, on the field, positively influencing the team.’’

Lade has been a shocking influence after having not played in their first five games. He debuted as a sub on April 14 against San Jose, made his first start eight days later in a loss at archrival D.C., and has become a vital cog since. And in Friday’s night’s 2-0 win over Houston, he was named Man of the Match by the fans.

“It’s great. I feel like we have the best fans in the world. They come every night and they’re loud no matter how we’re playing, but they really inspire us to do well. You can tell by how well we play and the results we’ve been getting, so it means a lot to have all that support,’’ said Lade, who feeds off the boisterous South Ward.

“When you land a big tackle and the crowd, I mean they love it. That just pushes you do to more, it inspires you, especially playing at home where we’ve been so good. I’m just trying to inspire the guys around me, work as hard as I can every minute.’’

Henry has been vocal about how the team feeds of Lade’s energy, and has said on more than one occasion that he felt Lade and right back Brandon Barklage have been the keys to their success. And if any game has epitomized Lade’s value to the team, last Friday’s was it.

Exactly a week earlier, the Red Bulls had suffered a humiliating 2-0 defeat in Houston, knocked out of first place in the Eastern Conference and shredded defensively by Dynamo Mac Kandji, who had far too much space and time on the ball.

But in the return leg at Red Bull Arena, with Barklage still injured, Backe showed faith in Lade and gave the rookie the start at right back. Despite being right-footed, Lade had been visibly uncomfortable at right back earlier in the year, preferring to play on the left; but he not only improved over the course of the season, he put in a yeoman’s effort defensively on Kandji.

“Apart from two times, when he starts to run at you and do his skills, every time Connor had him and had his back, he didn’t allow him to turn. But that’s our boy: Connor went on a mission there and he succeeded,’’ said Henry.

“We struggled with injuries, we’ve been trying different things with the lineup. They want to see how I do back there at right back,’’ Lade said. “(Kandji) hurt us really bad out in Houston; we kind of game him a lot of room so we wanted to close down on him, just pressure him as much as we could. Take him off his game a bit. That’s what I tried to do.

“He’s a great player and it’s tough when you give a guy like that room – one of his strides is like three of mine. You have to get close to him as possible and not let him turn because once you let him go at you he’s very, very dangerous. I just wanted to stay tight on him, and just be as physical as I could.’’

Lade was a ubiquitous pest, buzzing around Kandji’s feet, not letting him turn and run at the defense. He even came in for a tackle, and when the 6-foot-4 striker got into a shoving match with the 5-6 rookie, Lade didn’t back down, much to the delight of the Red Bull Arena crowd – and amusement of his teammates.

“I came in: I guess he didn’t like it. In the heat of the moment, you know? Not too much going on there. It’s a tough battle,’’ said Lade, who shook hands with Kandji at the end of the game.

“It’s a tough game. It’s a first place type game. Whatever happens on the field, you leave it on the field, at the end of the day we got what we needed. We exchanged words. You know it was a tough battle and just “Good luck the rest of the way,” pretty much.’’

Lade may have a huge say in how the Red Bulls do the rest of the way. A couple of months ago, few – if any – would’ve predicted that.