Still winless a half-dozen games into the season, the Red Bulls grasp the importance of taking the full three points from Wednesday’s game against visiting Philadelphia. And when they take the field (7:30 p.m., MSG+), at least they’ll have their big players available, if not quite 100 percent.
“[Wednesday] is a big game for us. This is it. I feel a win, so we’re going to go for it,’’ said midfielder Tim Cahill, who has been cleared to play after missing time recently with a hamstring injury. “We’ve got enough on the bench as well to come on and help the squad if we can’t get that.
“I’m in a really positive mind frame that the season can start [Wednesday]. Last season we started about this time. We’ve only lost two games. We’ve had four away, two at home, so let’s start getting the home form good. Let’s get the chances and hopefully I can be on the end of a few.”
The Red Bulls fought back from a five-game winless start last season to claim MLS’ best record by the end of the year. This time around, they’ve gone one more, 0-2-4 to kick off the campaign, albeit showing improvement in last weekend’s 1-0 loss at rival D.C. United.
“If people aren’t seeing that there’s dramatic improvement over the last six games, and countless opportunities, then they don’t know the game,’’ coach Mike Petke said. “It’s about being patient, still being patient, and realizing that good things are happening and hopefully it clicks.’’
Cahill and Armando were both sidelined with hamstring injuries for that loss at RFK Stadium. Both trained with the reserves Monday, practiced fully Tuesday and should be available against the Union, even if the Armando is unlikely to start.
“[Wednesday] is going to be a hot affair, to be honest with you,” Petke said. “It’s going to be chippy, it’s going to be high energy. And that’s what we need from both teams, from our team, but I’m saying from both teams because it’s going to happen. They’re going to have the same mind-set.’’
After leading the league in goals scored last season, the Red Bulls have mustered just six so far, with Petke joking the solution might be to “bribe them with large amounts of cash.’’ But captain Thierry Henry also took at least some encouragement from the way they played in the second half against D.C. United.
“It was kind of encouraging if I can say that, although we lost, I know that and we didn’t like that and we didn’t appreciate it,’’ Henry said. “I thought we did everything we could to come back into the game, apart from scoring a goal — that goes without saying — but we want to carry on the same way we finished the game against D.C.
“At the moment, we’re reacting every time instead of acting, and it’s about time that we can start the game like we finish them and also play 90 minutes like we played the second half against D.C. We know it’s not always possible, that you’re going to have some difficult patches in the game, but we have to manage them better and play with the same attitude. … That’s the aim for the game [Wednesday].’’