Neither will want ball, but Union and Red Bulls always entertaining

CHESTER » There will be no question of styles Saturday at Subaru Park. Both the Union and New York Red Bulls are clear on what they want to do and how often they want to have the ball.

The only question, then, is which team can execute their intentions more often in the face of the other’s resistance.

Saturday night’s collision (7:30, PHL17) won’t just pit the top two teams in the Eastern Conference against each other, it’s also the conference’s top defenses, at eight goals conceded each, and two of the teams least concerned about possession. Both teams would prefer their opponent have the ball, all the better to turn them over in dangerous areas.

But one team, for this to qualify as a soccer match, does have to have the ball in play at some point, in between myriad midfield duels. So how can one team win the moments of opportunity it creates?

“Often times when we play Red Bull, we cancel each other out,”

Union manager Jim Curtin said. “I think you can look over the last 10 matches between us and Red Bull, they’re very hard fought, they’re all pretty much for the most part one-goal games, one-play games. So we expect a really tough task. It’s the two top teams in our conference right now. … It’s a big test for us and one we’re looking forward to.”

New York (5-2-3, 18 points) is the forerunner in MLS in counter-pressing philosophy, dogmatic in a desire to forsake the ball. Instead, the Bulls create chances by dictating where their opponent has the possession they relinquish, then creating turnovers and quick actions to goal. That’s what the Union (5-1-4, 19 points) have embraced under Ernst Tanner, another disciple of the Red Bull system. The Union have taken it further to some degree, coming into the game dead last in MLS in possession at 38.4 percent. (Red Bulls are 23rd at 43.9 percent.)

Comfort without the ball is why the Red Bulls have tied the MLS record for most consecutive road wins to start a season with five. Road points are the most elusive commodity in MLS, an entity where homefield advantage is disproportionate compared to other global leagues. That the Red Bulls are 5-0-0 on the road and 0-2-3 at home in Harrison is perhaps another story.

“The hardest thing to do in this league is to win on the road,” Curtin said. “It has been proven, whether it’s the metrics you look at, MLS has become one of the hardest leagues in the world to win on the road, and they’ve become very good at it. Obviously it starts with how they’re coached. They’re a high intensity team. They’re comfortable not having

the ball, which sometimes is the case when you go on the road. I think they’ve been very decisive in their transition moments. It’s the way both clubs believe the way the modern game has gone, into transition soccer.”

The Red Bulls struggled early last year under first year under coach Gerhard Struber, but eventually found their way. They finished on a 7-1-4 run, eking into the seventh and final playoff spot to earn a trip to Subaru Park, where Jakob Glesnes’ extra-time goal sent the Union on to the second round.

The Red Bulls have added bite in midfield from last year, though Cristian Casseres is suspended this week. They also upgraded their finishing via Inter Miami castaway Lewis Morgan, who leads the team with four goals, and Brazilian Luquinhas, a player that Curtin said the Union had tracked. Morgan, however, is out this week under health and safety protocols, while forward Patryk Klimala is back.

The Red Bulls also face a shortage at center back, with Andres Reyes out and Aaron Long questionable with a calf injury. Long tore his Achilles tendon in Chester a year ago.

The Union will also be limited up top, with Mikael Uhre working through a quad injury. If he’s available, it would only be from the bench.

For the complex philosophy underpinning transition soccer, it boils down to a simple imperative on the day: Win battles. The system will create them in the right places, and it’s just about the sharpness in intensity to make them hurt when either team does break through.

“I think you have to avoid mistakes,” Curtin said. “Unforced errors, they are lethal at turning you over and hitting you while you’re open, and I think you’ve seen that with the success you’ve had this year.”