The Red Bulls rode two long unbeaten stretches to last year’s Supporters’ Shield and the best record in MLS. They’re hoping to take this four-game unbeaten streak all the way into next month’s World Cup break, and do the same thing this season.
That won’t be easy, with Designated Player Tim Cahill and left back Roy Miller both leaving for their respective national teams after Saturday’s game against Chicago (7 p.m., MSG). But with the Fire still winless and the Red Bulls scorching hot, they can ill afford to come out flat and take less than three points.
“Our intensity [is key]. You know tomorrow we’ve got to come out firing,’’ Cahill said. “Chicago haven’t won a game this year, but that’s not because they’re a bad team. They’ve been very unlucky … and we were in that position at the start of the season. We have to come out on fire. We’ve been training really well.
“Now it’s all about us, because when this team gets confidence we’re a pretty frightening team. Once we start pushing the ball, goals will always come. We’ve played some good football in patches and now it’s about continuing the run.’’
The Red Bulls will have to do without Cahill and Miller indefinitely, named to the preliminary rosters of Australia and Costa Rica, respectively.
But they’re 3-0-1 in their last four and tied atop the East with 14 points. With wide midfielders Lloyd Sam and Eric Alexander pinching in, and fullbacks Miller and Kosuke Kimura overlapping, that has allowed Thierry Henry to stay up where he’s most dangerous, and can combine with Bradley Wright-Phillips.
“It’s a good mind-set right now. The reason for our success — and we take the Dallas game out of it — is better ball movement, more willingness to get behind the ball as a team,’’ coach Mike Petke said. “We’re nowhere near where we want to be, but it’s about carrying that momentum into this game. We’re at home, a team that’s going to come in and be very hungry. We need to put the pressure on them.’’
Goalie Luis Robles, 30 on Sunday, is coming off a clean sheet in Dallas, while Wright-Phillips has five goals in the last three games, and Henry dished out three assists over that same span.
“It’s kind of weird, three weeks ago we were talking about how we can win a game, and we’re talking about how we can carry on having some momentum,’’ Henry said. “We have to carry on passing the ball around and playing for each other and Bradley is in tune right now so we need to keep that going.’’