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USL Exit Report – New York Red Bulls II

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 11/16/18, 3:00PM EST

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A third consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference Final saw pieces click into place late

For a third consecutive season, the New York Red Bulls II reached the Eastern Conference Final, and for a second that was the end of the club’s journey in the USL Cup Playoffs. But after a season where New York’s playoff streak was certainly in doubt, what should we take away from 2018 for Head Coach John Wolyniec’s side, and what we could be looking for in 2019?

  2018 Record 2018 Finish 2018 Home 2018 Away 2017 Record 2017 Finish

13-8-13 5th  East
Lost in Conference
Finals
11-3-3 2-5-10 13-14-5 7th  East
Lost in Conference
Finals

Is the Defense we saw to end 2018 going to carry forward into next year?

The 2018 regular season for the New York Red Bulls II had a very clear delineation as to when the side established itself as a threat to the teams above it in the Eastern Conference standings, and that date is September 13. On that night, the side played to a 3-3 draw with Toronto FC II at MSU Soccer Park which saw the side rank tied for seventh in the league in goals conceded with 54 on 126 shots faced, a goals-against average of 1.8 per game.

Over the seven games that followed, the Red Bulls II sported a 0.71 goals-against average, not conceding more than one goal in a game over that span before Louisville’s emphatic victory in the Eastern Conference Final. Yes, seven games isn’t a very large sample to pull from, but improving the club’s goals-against average by more than a point when the chips were down and the side was fighting for its playoff life on the road, it certainly seemed like things clicked into place for a good contingent of the club’s squad.

There are going to be challenges to producing that type of performance over a full season. As Head Coach John Wolyniec noted, the Red Bulls’ pressing defensive structure that is the hallmark of the organization no matter the team is a difficult one to adapt to for players not familiar with the concepts at its base. Add in the rotating cast that can be asked to put that theory into practice at Wolyniec’s disposal and it compounds the issue. But, if the Red Bulls II can find a way to bottle what it had late in the season where it allowed only 30 shots on target in seven games, this is a side that will again be a threat for postseason success.

What’s the plan for Andrew Tinari?

There was arguably no player that did more positive work whose front-and-center statistics didn’t do justice this season than Andrew Tinari, with the Red Bulls II midfielder ending the season with only three assists to show for his 102 chances created according to Opta. The fact that Tinari created 16 Big Chances in Opta’s accounting – tied for ninth in the league with teammate Jared Stroud, who ended up with 11 assists – shows how unlucky Tinari was when it came to his teammates finishing.

With those kinds of numbers, it’s certainly likely the Red Bulls II would like to keep Tinari around, but when the club’s initial roster announcement came out earlier this week the former Columbia standout was one of two players out of contract with the club. As the always-smart Joe Goldstein of the Seeing Red Podcast points out, Tinari is in a similar situation to that of Florian Valot last offseason, so the potential for a first-team contract is certainly there if New York thinks there would be the opportunity for Tinari to replicate the productivity both Valot and fellow Red Bulls II alum Vincent Bezecourt showed before injury curtailed their first seasons in Major League Soccer.

If that’s not the case, however, the other path may not be a bad one for Tinari either. There certainly could be another MLS club who would look at his USL numbers and send out an invite for preseason training camp in January, or an enterprising USL side could come in with a firm offer to allow the 23-year-old to build his career. The likes of Louisville City FC’s Speedy Williams have shown there is the opportunity for a positive outcome should the Red Bulls not be in Tinari’s future.

What is Hassan Ndam’s ceiling?

The news that 2018 USL 20 Under 20 selection and USL Young Player of the Year finalist Hassan Ndam had been called into Cameroon’s squad for its 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualifying series against Chad might have been a surprise, but it only served to add to the belief that the 19-year-old is an extremely bright prospect indeed for both club and country.

For those that saw Ndam’s performances this season, including a stellar display in the Red Bulls II’s Eastern Conference Semifinals victory against FC Cincinnati in which he helped limit Fanendo Adi to only one shot on goal in New York’s 1-0 win, there’s plenty to like in the 6-foot-4 center back’s arsenal already. Among those, his physical strength stands out, but his ability to read the game and make decisive interventions is going to be an even bigger tool moving forward. Ndam recorded only 38 fouls in 31 games while recording 65 interceptions and winning 193 of 305 duels.

The biggest area that Ndam is going to need to improve is his ball skills, for a player in his position making the simple pass consistently is going to be an asset. Upping his accuracy rate from 70.8 percent (800 of 1,130) in the regular season and finding more accuracy in his long passes (35.9 percent) could take Ndam from being a solid prospect to a regular MLS contributor – and maybe a full international – sooner rather than later.

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