New York Red Bulls II suffered their first loss in MLS Next Pro this season to Columbus Crew 2 but are looking for a quick rebound against an Inter Miami II team that also experienced defeat over the weekend. The standings in Group A have them separated by just four points. However, expectations for Red Bulls II mean that they look to put a bigger gap against their reserve opponents over the weekend.
“I think the two teams value the ball,” said head coach Ibrahim Sekagya in training. “We want to press and we want to win the ball and this is going to be the same thing. We don’t think about the other game now. We’re just thinking that we’re going to Miami.”
A wise choice considering it was the first time this season that Red Bulls II failed to score a goal. What’s more frustrating is that the reverse fixture back in March saw the club win in Columbus by the same score. Head coach Sekagya, much like the fictional coach Ted Lasso, would have his team resemble the mindset of a goldfish by just moving on and focusing on the next fixture. That fixture is a Miami team that feels more neglected than the star-studded first team.
These two teams played a high-scoring game back in March with the contest being decided on penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw in regulation time. Red Bulls were able to come away with the win at MSU Soccer Park but now the setting changes to Chase Stadium in south Florida. The road has been kind to Red Bulls II with all three of their wins coming away from New Jersey. Inter Miami also has a good record in Fort Lauderdale, going undefeated and garnering two of their three wins of the campaign at home.
“We have our energy and as long as we stick to our plan, that is most important,” said Sekagya. “Sometimes it’s not too much about winning, it is about developing our young players and all seeing what the next step has to be. The winning is something in which you take and you say ‘this is what we work for,’ but the most important thing is to see them growing up enough to get to the next step.”
Red Bulls II will play Inter Miami II on Friday evening at 6pm on MLS Season Pass.