The New York Red Bulls needed a win on Saturday night to keep pace with first place Atlanta United FC. Wearing their all whites, Chris Armas’ men strolled into a twinkling but largely-uninhabited Avaya Stadium – the treatment for an eliminated, last place team. In MLS, such games can be dangerous.
Even if the gap between first and last in the league has widened over the last few seasons, Red Bulls fans that tuned in for kickoff at 10:30 p.m. EST had reason to worry. Not only was there precedent for a spoiler based on league history, but transitioning from a match with the league leaders to a match with the league bottom dwellers presented the scenario of a quintessential letdown game.