by RUSS McKENZIE

HANOVER, N.J. – Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles remembers.

The pattern of poor form after a long layoff has been one that New York has been trying to shake off since mid-season. Some would argue it has been a defining characteristic of the club for the better part of five years. Whatever the case may be, when asked about it after training on Monday, Robles quipped, “You had to bring that up, huh?”

“We’re confident that the previous experiences are something we can learn from,” he continued. “It’s been something that we can collectively get behind – that we’ve had some times that we haven’t come up sharp, and we want to buck that trend.”

While acknowledging the less-than-ideal timing of the international break, captain Dax McCarty prefers to look at the layoff in a different way, with a focus on healing time for the stretch tun. “It’s a good thing that MLS takes a break (for international duty). You lose a little bit of momentum, but that’s no excuse.”

The Red Bulls will face what is arguably their toughest task of the season when they face the Columbus Crew; a team that has a similar philosophy. Just as Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch has his club’s buy-in and unwavering belief in the system he introduced at the start of the 2015 season, Crew bench boss Gregg Berhalter has been the mastermind behind Columbus’ tactical eloquence and flexibility. While they don’t quite play the same high-press that Marsch’s troops have built their second Supporters Shield campaign upon, they deploy a significantly more attractive brand of soccer than the Red Bulls’ previous opponent, DC United.

“I think when we look at the last round of the playoffs, DC was the perfect team, because in the game, on the fly, we had to make adjustments,” Robles said. “That’s something we can carry over to this game. Whether they decide to play possession out of the back, or play direct, I’m very comfortable with the personnel I have in front of me.”

McCarty seemed to admire Columbus and their system, while remaining focused on the gravity of the task at hand. “I have a lot of respect for the way that they do things,” he said. “They have a set style of play that their head coach preaches that they play no matter what. The only time I’ve ever seen them switch up their style was against us in that second game (in Columbus).”

On July 4th, the Red Bulls visited Mapfre Stadium, only to have their high press turned against them time and again. Columbus played more directly to Kamara, often on the counter, with speed on the wings. McCarty and the Red Bulls were caught out of position and the Crew walked away with those three points, as New York’s transition game simply was not up to the task. This differed from how Columbus attacked the Red Bulls in the two matches at Red Bull Arena. Especially in the final victory against Columbus, Berhalter’s club played the ball out of the back more, allowing the Red Bulls to snuff out attacks before they began by causing turnovers in the Crew’s defensive third.

It wouldn’t be the only time a club hurt the Red Bulls on the counter. A 5-2 loss against Orlando City comes to mind, as well. In that match, Cyle Larin scored a hat trick to put himself into MLS record books as scoring the most goals in a rookie season. That match seemed to yield the same goal over and over again, according to Marsch.

Again, lessons learned during the season have played into how the coach gets his team ready, and it won’t be any different come this weekend.

“Today was a pretty intense day for this time of the year, but it was good. The guys were into it. We’ll get all the (physical) details right. We’ll get all the preparation right. We know what our game plan is, and our guys are ready to throw it all out there,” Marsch said. “They understand.”