Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor put clearly what Friday’s game against the New York Red Bulls II means for his club’s USL regular-season title chances.
“We need to go there and we need to win,” O’Connor said. “Let’s make no bones about it.”
A victory won’t come easily against one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams. The Red Bulls are tied for first in the standings with LouCity but also enter with a pair of games in hand.
Get to know New York…
Record: 14-3-5 (47 points) in 22 games
Conference: Eastern
Standings: 1st
Coach: John Wolyniec
Stadium: Red Bull Arena (capacity 25,000)
LouCity vs. New York: 0-3-0
Franchise history: The Red Bulls started in 2015 along with a slew of other USL clubs designed to serve as academy feeders and reserves for Major League Soccer teams. New York finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and made the playoffs. The Red Bulls were also the only club to defeat LouCity twice during the regular season.
Current form: New York rebounded from back-to-back defeats for the first time all season in style, going on to post 5-0 (versus Harrisburg) and 5-1 (versus Orlando) results. In all, the Red Bulls have won five of their last seven. The losses came to clubs in playoffs spots, the Charleston Battery and Richmond Kickers.
Style of play: Originally a defensive-minded bunch — at one point this season, New York won four straight games by 1-0 scores — the Red Bulls opened up their attack lately to tally a USL-leading 44 total goals. Orlando played down a man for much of its loss, but New York did show some vulnerability early against Harrisburg before routing the City Islanders.
Player to watch: Midfielder Junior Flemmings has emerged as one of New York’s top goal scorers, numbering six in all this season. The 20-year-old from Jamaica scored a goal and “was the key player,” according to the USL, in last Friday’s Orlando win. For it, Flemmings was named to the USL’s Team of the Week.
Another to know: Forward Brandon Allen leads New York with 10 goals, and he’s not afraid to take his chances. The younger brother of R.J. Allen, who plays for MLS’ New York City FC, Brandon has attempted 48 shots, with 26 of them on goal. Brandon attended Georgetown before signing a Homegrown Contract with the Red Bulls.
