The ‘South Ward’ have shown us that MLS has its place on the football map in New York

Injuries have severely handicapped NY in recent weeks,and shorn of All-star selections Thierry Henry and Heath Pearce this past weekend at the Gillette, there was a lack of spark and inventiveness about their play. The closest NY came to scoring was a Kenny Cooper effort that came off the post in the 56th minute. In truth it was a comfortable victory for the Revolution, and the Red Bulls Foxborough jinx continued. NY have now failed to register a victory in Massachusetts since 2002 (a winless streak of 17 games).

The NY Red Bulls on home turf are a different proposition though. They now have a great opportunity to strengthen their position as they embark on a 3-game home stretch prior to the All-star game on July 25th. Unbeaten in 7 MLS home clashes this season, NY will feel confident about the week ahead.

First up at the Red Bull Arena this Sunday July 15th are the Seattle Sounders who saw off the Colorado Rapids 2-1 before a home crowd of 39,060 last Saturday. The ever-dangerous 8-goal hitman Eddie Johnson will need to be watched closely by the NY rearguard if a victory is to be achieved. In midfield the industry and tenacity of Osvaldo Alonso will need to be matched by NY,and I’m personally looking forward to see the return of Steve Zakuani who returned to the game last week after a 14-month injury lay-off.

Seattle,despite being 3rd in the MLS Western Conference have shown poor away form ,and with a return of only 2 victories in 9 road excursions this season, it’s imperative that NY take full advantage and secure the vital 3 points.

Wednesday July 18th then provides us with an Eastern Conference 1pm matinee at the Red Bull Arena, as 4th placed Chicago Fire provide the opposition.

A sell-out crowd of 20,563 at Chicago’s Toyota Park last Sunday saw a Robbie Keane inspired LA Galaxy beat the Fire 2-0, which ended Chicago’s 4-game unbeaten streak. But Chicago are a team that have shown themselves to be dangerous on the road. A recent 1-0 road win at leaders Sporting KC secured by Marco Pappa’s goal and the goalkeeping heroics of young shot-stopper Sean Johnson,is evidence of this. Dominic Oduro and Chris Rolfe will also pose a threat to NY’s unbeaten home record,but this is a clash I fully expect the Red Bulls to go on and win

David Beckham and Robbie Keane have been in blistering form for LA lately.

The home-stand closes out on July 21 with a visit from our close-rivals the Philadelphia Union, who are bang in form over the last 2 weekends. Michael Farfan was the hero in LA on Independence Day as he struck a 95th minute winner for the Union in a 2-1 win to leave Galaxy fans stunned. The Union then followed that up last Sunday with a crushing 3-0 victory over last-placed Toronto before a vociferous 18,393 at PPL Park.

Freddy Adu,the one-time golden boy of US Soccer was amongst the goals,and they will arrive in NY full of confidence looking to secure a shock win.

Philadelphia will host Aston Villa on July 18th in a ‘friendly’ that I’ll be attending at PPL Park, so it remains to be seen whether fatigue will play a part in the final outcome of their clash at Red Bull Arena only 3 days later.

For the Red Bulls, they’ll be hoping to see the return of 9-goal Thierry Henry from his calf strain,to lend weight to the attack. He also leads the Red Bulls in assists (5), so it’s clear that his influence is severely missed.

Come support your local New York Red Bulls as they make their charge towards MLS glory.

Cold Beers and direct transportation to the games from Legends. Live MLS football on the doorstep of Manhattan all week.

You know it makes sense.

Steve Nanfan