With the Red Bulls facing a brutally congested schedule, and their MLS playoff position precarious at best, it seems all but certain they will send a makeshift squad north for Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions League match at Montreal’s Stade Saputo.
“We’re giving almost an entire team an opportunity,’’ coach Mike Petke said. “You look at the injuries that we have right now, guys hurting, three games in a week, a big game against Seattle. I’m confident that the team I put out there is going to do what it takes. I know they’re going to work hard, I know [what] they’re going to be working like, and I know they’re going to do everything they can to get a result.
“We’ll be taking it seriously. But the way the league’s set up and the amount of games that we’ve had recently, and the position we’re in in the league, this is why you go to give guys opportunities, and you get new guys and fresh legs on.’’
That amount has become almost untenable, with the Red Bulls in the midst of playing seven games in just 23 days — Saturday’s match against Seattle, their fifth in a two-week stretch. Designated-Players Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill, as well as MLS leading scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips, will miss Wednesday, the numbers crunch so bad the team recalled Connor Lade from his loan to the New York Cosmos.
“Obviously the injuries we have right now — Bradley, Cahill’s hurting, Thierry’s hurting — all the other guys are hampered with tiredness. It was almost a necessity to call [Lade] back,’’ said Petke, whose Red Bulls are 1-0-0 in the Champions League after beating Salvadoran club FAS 2-0 last month.
Montreal is leading Group 3 at 2-0-0, with the Red Bulls playing at FAS next Wednesday and playing host to Montreal Oct. 22.
“Yeah, obviously in Champions League, knowing that they come to us the last game and if we win that game at home at the end and win our game in FAS, tomorrow of course a draw would be OK,’’ Petke said. “Perhaps that’s what you play for in Champions League.
“It’s very obvious they’re putting everything into this competition. We’re taking it very seriously, but we’re in fourth place in the league and we have six games left and we have a huge game against Seattle coming off three straight games, so we have some guys that most of them we need to rest.’’