HANOVER, N.J. — In the closing moments of the New York Red Bulls’ decisive 2-0 victory over Atlanta United late in September, a chant that emerged from the South Ward soon resonated throughout Red Bull Arena.
“You can’t beat us!”
In the short history between the teams, that can’t be argued. The Red Bulls have won three of the four all-time meetings, a goalless draw the other. This year, New York was one of just two teams in league play to win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — 3-1 in May — before the aforementioned home win that helped pave the way for a third Supporters’ Shield title in six years.
The fans chant “you can’t beat us,” but why have the Red Bulls have so much success against the Five Stripes?
“I think we’ve always been on top of the details,” Red Bulls winger Danny Royer said after training Friday. “When we’re playing against Atlanta, we stuck to our game plan that we had. And I think we always played aggressive and fearless. Even though we know that they are a good possession team and try to play through us, we didn’t like drop a lot or back off just went for it in the way that we always want to play.
“I think against Atlanta, we always have been us, ourselves. And that was always a big point on the day. And I think we’ve done a great job in terms of that. And I think we’ve won a lot of balls high up the field to create chances quickly.”
Royer, who struck for a brace in a 3-0 win over Columbus Crew SC in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, has been particularly dangerous against Atlanta. The Austrian has three all-time goals, two this season — both from the penalty spot.
“I just like playing them in general,” Royer said. “Just the setup for the game sets up for a great game — two different teams, two different philosophies and individuals. That sets up for for a great game and that’s why I think we’ve done a great job in general and we’re looking forward to it.”
The contrast of styles has played in the Red Bulls’ favor as well. Their frenetic press has kept the most dangerous Atlanta players — Josef Martinez and Miguel Almiron — relatively quiet in both regular season games this year.
“We just followed the game plan,” midfielder Kaku said through a translator. “Coach wanted us to press so we were just always pressing so it caused them trouble. Knowing this is the playoffs now and it’s a whole different game, it’s different so we just need to prepare to win there because the stakes are higher.”
Yes, the stakes are higher and there’s no guarantee that history will dictate what happens in the Conference Championship, beginning Sunday (5 pm ET | ESPN, TSN2, TVAS, ESPN Deportes) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Each of those games could have went the other way,” Red Bulls coach Chris Armas said. “As much as we had a grip on game two, Aaron Long makes a recovery run when Almiron gets through and Luis [Robles] makes a big save and the first game it’s back and forth.
“But in each game we were aggressive and we played our way, which is what we want to take from it going into this next game. We’re wise enough to not get ahead of ourselves, understanding how dangerous and explosive Atlanta is, how good they are at home. We’ll have our hands full, but we’ll have to reset, for sure.”
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