HANNOVER -- New York Red Bulls captain Dax McCarty called his teammates "spineless" after the team collapsed in Sunday's 2-2 draw against the Philadelphia Union. Sacha Kljestan said that his teammates "didn't play like men."

Red Bulls defender Connor Lade didn't feel like his teammates' comments were out of line.

"Everyone had the same feeling of embarrassment," Lade said after Wednesday's practice. "We got outplayed by a team with 10 men, which should never happen. We all have to take a deep inward look at ourselves."

There were no players-only meetings after Sunday's match. Instead, the team talked through their problems before Wednesday's training session.

"We came in this morning and had a team meeting," Lade said. "We've all talked about that this a family and we're not afraid have these conversations, where you have to ask guys to step up. That's exactly what happened today."

Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles defended McCarty and the rest of the team's leaders.

"For each one of those guys, they look in the mirror before they start addressing anything," Robles said after Wednesday's practice. "We have a good group of leaders. It's one of those moments where we are going to get a better idea of who we are as a team."

The Red Bulls don't have time to dwell on their grievances.

The Red Bulls will play New York City F.C. (NYCFC) -- the top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference -- at home on Sunday. NYCFC emerged with a 2-0 victory in the last match, and Sunday is the last 2016 regular-season game of the Hudson River Derby.

Players and coaches on the Red Bulls have said all of the right things. Lade said the team will use Sunday's disappointing to "add fuel to their fire." Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said the team has to stick together as a group and be strong.

But they've said the right things in the past.

Prior to Sunday's game, Red Bulls midfielder Felipe said they had to change their mentality if they want to win on the road. Marsch said the U.S. Open Cup loss to the Philadelphia Union was disappointing, and the Red Bulls would need to put together a complete game against the Union on Sunday.

It didn't matter. The same issues happened on Sunday and the Red Bulls suffered another disappointing result at the hands of the Union.

"Talk is one thing, and being able to execute is another," Robles said on Wednesday. [Sunday's game] is one of those points that, if we end up being very successful at the end, I think we're going to be able to go back and attribute part of the growth in our mentality to these sort of moments."

The Red Bulls will face off against NYCFC on Sunday at Red Bull Arena, and then the Red Bulls will go on the road to face the Chicago Fire on July 31.

Daniel Falkenheim may be reached at DFalkenheim@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Thefalkon. Find NJ.com on Facebook.