HARRISON, NJ — The chances are in abundance, but the New York Red Bulls are not converting enough to churn out victories. While they are amid a seven-match unbeaten run in MLS play, head coach Sandro Schwarz’s men are stalling, recording only a single win with six draws.
It comes down to the team’s finishing in front of goal as the absence of star playmaking midfielder Emil Forsberg — out at least another three weeks due to a foot injury — has seen offensive efficiency grind to a halt.
During the seven-game unbeaten run, the Red Bulls are out-attempting their opponents by a whopping 127-43 margin, yet they have scored only 10 goals with a goal differential of plus-3.
“In these moments you have to be clever, you have to be clever with the ball… We have to create these moments and we need these goals,” Schwarz said. “It’s very frustrating, to be honest with you. When you play bad, you can be happy with one point. But when you have these chances, these performances after 60, 65 minutes for sure, I cannot be happy and sit here and give the best answers. This is frustrating.”
Wednesday night was just the latest microcosm of New York’s issues as it outshot CF Montreal 15-6, including a 7-0 advantage in the first half, but could only muster one goal in the opening 45 minutes, which came from a long-distance strike from Wiki Carmona.
Of those seven shot attempts, only two landed on target — Montreal keeper Jonathan Sirois turned away a Lewis Morgan attempt in the 22nd minute. Fellow striker Dante Vanzeir had ample opportunities to put the game away in the first half, yet the snake-bitten Belgian continues to struggle to find goals at the MLS level.
He was gifted a turnover by Sirois in the Montreal box in the eighth minute, but cannoned the shot well over the crossbar. In the 44th minute, he latched onto a lofted ball into the box stemming from a free kick that put him in alone against Sirois from six yards out. With ample netting to hit, he pulled the chance dramatically wide of the left post.
In 22 games this season, he is stuck on two goals with 10 of 37 shot attempts actually landing on goal. He has been held goalless in his last 13 matches dating back to May 11 while providing just one assist.
“We talked a lot about his work on the field with the team, especially with Lewis Morgan,” Schwarz said. “A lot of good moments with the pressing behavior. Also, these moments and these chances which he had, we have to push him, to analyze what he can improve in these moments. In the end, we have to push him, we have to help him, and then hopefully he will score them.”
An inability to pick up three points on a more consistent basis has tightened the standings behind the Red Bulls, who currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 38 points. The longer these issues persist, the more likely that they sink in the standings considering NYCFC sits just one point behind them in fifth and Charlotte is two points back.
“We have to start punishing teams,” defender Dylan Nealis said. “If we want to solidify ourselves in the top four, we have to start punishing these teams. It’s frustrating, but we’ll learn from it.”
