HARRISON, N.J. – When the New York Red Bulls take the field at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night, the task at hand will likely require mid-season sharpness – not ideal for a team that played its first game of the MLS regular season on Saturday.
Last Wednesday night, with a comfortable two-goal aggregate lead over Atletico Pantoja in the CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16, the Red Bulls wanted to see more from themselves than advancement. Those 90 minutes in a wintery Harrison were about preparing for the intangibleness of a Mexican side that New York has no first-hand knowledge of.