With seven games remaining, the New York Red Bulls are clinging to one of the final Eastern Conference playoff spots.
Their standing would be stronger if the Red Bulls performed better at home, and they will attempt to stop a four-game home winless slide when they face San Diego FC on Saturday in Harrison, N.J.
New York (9-12-6, 33 points) begins the weekend in eighth place and tied on points with New York City FC and FC Cincinnati, who each have one fewer win. The Red Bulls are one point behind seventh-place Orlando City and six behind the sixth-place Philadelphia Union.
The Red Bulls are also 4-6-3 at home, and during their 0-3-1 slide at home they have been outscored 8-2. The recent home woes continued with a 3-0 loss to St. Louis City on Sept. 30, getting blanked for the eighth time this season. New York, which allowed a pair of late goals, dropped to 3-7-2 since the World Cup break.
“You play all year to get to the end where the games have the most importance and there’s the most on the line and we still have put ourselves in a position where it’s all there for us,” Red Bulls coach Michael Bradley said. “Everything is in our hands.”
New York’s most recent goal came from Julian Hall in a 1-0 road win over NYCFC on Sept. 18. Hall leads the team in goals (10) and goal involvements (15).
San Diego, after earning the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs and reaching the conference finals in its inaugural season, is facing an uphill climb to the postseason.
San Diego FC (8-11-8, 32 points) enter their first visit to Harrison in 12th place in the West, four points behind the ninth-place Los Angeles Galaxy. Since a 3-1 win over the Galaxy on Aug. 29, San Diego has gone 0-3-2.
San Diego was outscored 9-2 in a three-game losing streak before earning road draws against Inter Miami and Austin FC. While Anders Dreyer scored twice to rally San Diego to a 2-2 tie with Inter Miami, SDFC lost a three-goal lead in the final 20 minutes and settled for a 3-3 draw at Austin on Sept. 26.
“There’s pressure on us, and it’s nice,” said Dreyer, who has 11 goals and a team-high 12 assists. “We like that, but it’s seven games (to go). We want to collect as many points as possible and then we’ll see where we are.”
–Field Level Media
