As Sporting KC prepares to host the 2013 Supporters Shield champion New York Red Bulls on Tuesday, I caught up with ESPN commentator Adrian Healey. The match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT with live coverage available on ESPN2, Watch ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340 AM.
JF: Tuesday’s match will be a quick turnaround for both sides, with Sporting KC playing on Friday and the New York Red Bulls playing on Saturday. How will this affect the match?
AH: That’s reality in MLS, isn’t it—quick turnaround games every three or four days. New York have had 24 hours less to recover and they have had to travel. So if you were looking for an advantage for either side, you’d have to give it to Kansas City. But I think these players are well used to turning around and playing three or four days later. They’d rather play than train.
JF: These two teams feature the league’s top two goal scorers, Dom Dwyer and Bradley Wright-Phillips. What are your thoughts on both players and the form they have showed this season?
AH: I think they’ve been excellent. They’ve been superb to watch. It’s really good to see someone like Dom Dwyer come good after being on the periphery last year and going out on loan. It’s fantastic to see him really find his goal scoring form. I thought it was always going to be there. He’s always looked like he’s had all the tools, it was just a matter of putting it together on the pitch. It’s interesting because (Dwyer and Wright-Phillips) make a contrast. Wright-Phillips took a different route to MLS, (playing) in the lower divisions in England for quite a few years. Now he’s found a great home and of course he gets to play with Thierry Henry, which is a dream having him set you up. Both of them have just got that elusive quality that strikers need to have, and that is confidence. They’re both brimming with confidence and it shows.
JF: How do you see Sporting KC matching up against the New York attack?
AH: I think that’s the main problem for any team playing New York. How do you stop those two? You know Henry is going to drop deep and almost act as a playmaker. And of course Kansas City have had defensive concerns. But I think they actually match up pretty well against them. If you look at the past meeting between these two teams, other than the match (at Sporting Park) last year, Kansas City have done really well defensively against New York over the years. I think it’s going to be an interesting matchup.
JF: What do you see as the key matchups and factors in Tuesday’s match?
AH: You have to start with the French matchup, don’t you? Aurelien Collin against Thierry Henry. The two really relish going up against each other. Aurelien has done very well at both ends of the pitch against New York. Can Dom Dwyer take advantage against New York’s central defensive area? That could be a weak link for New York, so Dwyer could be looking to take advantage there. The midfield battle I’m really looking forward to seeing is Benny (Feilhaber) vs. Dax (McCarty). You have two American warriors who have been at the heart of the midfield for quite awhile, and they are both very important cogs to the team. Whoever has the biggest influence on the game between Feilhaber and McCarty, their team could end up being the winner on Tuesday.
JF: How do you expect Tuesday’s match to unfold?
AH: What I’m not expecting to see is what happened the last time New York came here and won 3-2. I don’t think this game will have many goals in it. That’s just the feeling I get, and that goes back to playing so soon after their last game and the travel involved. I think the game is going to be tight—maybe a 1-0 or 2-1 result in either direction. I’m going to give the edge to Kansas City at home in front of another sellout crowd. Always a tough place to come.
