New York Red Bulls have just one game left in the MLS regular season, a meeting against MLS Cup contender Columbus Crew SC on Saturday evening. While the team has already qualified for the playoffs, head coach Sandro Schwarz knows that there is still work to do in solidifying his roster. For the first time all season, nearly all players are back from injury, giving him more options than just about any point in the season.
“You have to fight for your position,” said Schwarz when asked about having 20 plus players to select from. “It’s very important to have more than 20 players in the training sessions, to have this competition. You also have to make decisions for the roster. For me, as the head coach, this is important.”
Schwarz’s decisions will rest on his formation for the final game of the season. Kyle Duncan is one of the few players missing with injury but defender Dylan Nealis will also miss Saturday’s game due to a red card two weeks ago in the game against Atlanta. For that reason, having options makes it a much more feasible experience rather than one of necessity.
One of those options is Cameron Harper, who has provided width to the club on the wing but also been an asset as a wing back defender. More than likely, Schwarz will return to a three-man backline much like he did in Atlanta. That means that Harper and Tolkin will be options pushing forward in the middle of the field.
“(Harper) is an option as a wingback like in Atlanta,” said Schwarz. “We will see what the starting line up will be. We have some options.”
Another one of those options is Wiki Carmona. The attacker has missed significant time over the summer but has returned to full-time training and is expected to play minutes against Columbus. This means that Schwarz has offensive options like Carmona, Ngoma, Gjengaar, Manoel and Burke off the bench to diversify late game situations.
photo by Matt Kremkau