The New York Red Bulls hope their recent home success over the Houston Dynamo can continue in a week where forward Dante Vanzeir was handed a six-game suspension because of racist language.
Winless in their past three games, the Red Bulls seek an eighth straight home win over Houston on Saturday night when the teams convene in Harrison, N.J.
The Red Bulls (1-2-4, 7 points) have scored five goals, tying them with Orlando for the second-fewest in the Eastern Conference. Two of those goals are during New York’s 0-1-2 stretch since a 2-1 win over visiting Columbus on March 18.
Last week Vanzeir was accused of uttering a racial slur during a 1-1 draw against the host San Jose Earthquakes.
“I think he’s got a long road to regain the trust and respect of guys in the locker room,” Red Bulls captain Sean Nealis said. “We’ll see what the consequences are. I don’t know when specifically they’ll be pushed out, so we’ll see and take things from there.”
New York was able to salvage a point against San Joe thanks to Tom Barlow, who scored in the 107th minute.
The Red Bulls head into Saturday 10-0-3 all-time at home against Houston in regular-season play, including an 8-0-1 mark at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls have won the past seven home matches over Houston by a combined 15-3 margin.
Houston (3-3-0, 9 points) is 3-1-0 over its past four games with all three wins at home.
The Dynamo posted their third shutout of the season last week when captain Hector Herrera scored and Amine Bassi tallied twice in a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy. Bassi, who has five goals, scored on a penalty kick for the fourth straight week, becoming the first player in MLS history to achieve the feat.
“Sometimes on the road, we get a little bit stretched or we get a little bit away from what makes us good at home,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said. “So now we go to (the) Red Bulls, a very, very tough place to play against a tough team. So we got to figure out how to grind something out of an away result.”
–Field Level Media
