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HANOVER, N.J. — Tyler Adams got a taste, a little nibble of what it’s like to face Mexican opposition. It came a year ago when the midfielder was on the United States team that defeated El Tri, 1-0, in the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship.
But that match was at Estadio Saprissa in Costa Rica. On Tuesday, it’s a whole different challenge for the 19-year-old and his New York Red Bulls teammates when they meet Club Tijuana at Estadio Caliente in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.
“It’s a lot more chippy, a lot more scrappy and you definitely have to be up for it,” Adams said. “But I think that my experience with the national team now with the CONCACAF setup will definitely help in these games.”
The Red Bulls secured passage into the final eight with a tidy 3-1 aggregate win over Olimpia of Honduras. It was the first CCL knockout round victory in the club’s history after New York bowed out in the quarterfinals to the Vancouver Whitecaps a year ago.
As Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said following a 2-0 win at Red Bull Arena to close out the Round of 16 series, the stakes get raised now.
Central defender Aaron Long wouldn’t want it any other way.
“We’ve been wanting to play a Mexican club for a long time in the Champions League,” he said. “It’s an honor and we’re super excited about it, but we have a game plan and we’re going to stick to it just like we did against Olimpia and hopefully we’ll get the job done.”
Club Tijuana, which knocked off Motagua from Honduras, 2-1, in the Round of 16, presents a stiff challenge. Following a comprehensive 3-1 win over Lobos BUAP Friday, Xolos sits sixth in the Liga MX standings, four points behind pace-setters Santos Laguna after 10 rounds of the Clausura.
After struggling to score without injured striker Gustavo Bou, Tijuana has struck seven times in its last two league wins with a scoreless draw against undefeated Club America sandwiched between.
“We know they have four attackers who are really crafty and have created a lot of their goals going forward this season,” Adams said. “When we have the ball transitionally, they like to get numbers behind the ball. That sets up well for us in the sense that our pressing and going forward has to happen quickly.”
Helping provide a scouting report of all things Xolos was Armando Moreno, the club’s 22-year-old forward who spent three years on Club Tijuana’s books after coming up through the Red Bulls Academy system.
“They have a new coach and some new players so it’s a little bit different than when he was there, but we used him to talk about everything from what the turf in the stadium is like to what their players are like and how they play,” Marsch said. “He was very helpful. We hope that gives us a little bit of an advantage.”
Following training Sunday, the Red Bulls took a charter flight to Tijuana where the team met up with Tim Parker, who was acquired in a trade with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday. Marsch said he’s confident the central defender is fit and in contention for a starting spot Tuesday night.
“We’ll err on the side of throwing him right into things right away,” Marsch said Sunday. “We’ll meet him down in Tijuana tonight and see how he feels, but we’re ready to get him going. We’ll have to update him on tactics and how we do things, but we’ll be ready to use him if necessary.”
While Adams, Aurelien Collin, Sean Davis and Daniel Royer are one yellow card away from a one-game suspension, the Red Bulls escaped unscathed on the injury front from their two-legged series against Olimpia.
And with three games in eight days, Marsch said its likely he’ll rotate players for the MLS opener against the Portland Timbers Saturday.
“I think some of it will be how we come out of the game from a score perspective, from a health perspective, from a physical perspective, but for sure there will be some rotation used on the weekend to address the league match,” Marsch said. “Early in the year I think it will be good for guys to get an opportunity.”