On Saturday night, El Paso Locomotive FC will find itself up against another unfamiliar foe as the battle between East and West wages on. For the first time in franchise history, the Locos will welcome New York Red Bulls II to Southwest University Park.
In the first few weeks of the season, Locomotive struggled to earn results. The stumble out of the gate left El Paso Locomotive at the bottom of the league looking up. Head Coach John Hutchinson asked for patience, stating time and time again that there will be a change and the team will begin to click. Once that click happened in the 5-0 thrashing over Monterey Bay F.C. in early April, Locomotive rocketed to being in the Top 10 amongst a 27-team league.
As El Paso Locomotive contends with the top teams in the league, it welcomes New York Red Bulls II, who currently sits at the bottom of the league table with only six points earned after 15 games. Red Bulls II has not won a game since March – a 1-0 victory on the road against Atlanta United II – but has picked up a couple of draws within the last five matches against FC Tulsa and San Diego Loyal SC. Meanwhile, El Paso Locomotive is undefeated in its last six matches, picking up points both at home and on the road to maintain hold on a playoff position as it enters the second stretch of the 2022 USL Championship season.
On paper, the match between El Paso Locomotive FC and New York Red Bulls II feels like an easy win for the Locos. FiveThirtyEight – a statistical analysis website – has predicted an overwhelming 71% chance of victory for El Paso Locomotive.
While it seems like an easy three points for El Paso Locomotive FC, the squad is careful not to get complacent. The USL Championship has been known to have its fair share of upsets.
“We’ve been in that position where they have been struggling a little bit in the table but that’s no reason to overlook someone like that,” said Defender Andrew Fox. “Anyone can beat anyone at this league. They may be at the wrong end of the table from where they want to be but that could always just cause a reaction. We need to concentrate on starting quickly, playing as quickly as possible, and getting the fans behind us at home and putting the momentum on our side.”
El Paso Locomotive won’t be taking New York’s form for granted. The Locos will be treating Red Bulls II just the same as they treat any other team in the league. Come Saturday night, Hutchinson’s men will step on to the pitch looking to press and score as many goals as possible. Coach Hutchinson knows it’s important not to look at this one as an easy win as that level of complacency could lead to the Locos being vulnerable at home.
“The last thing we want to be doing is being two-nil down chasing a game where we should never be down two-nil,” commented Hutchinson. “The first place where you really see [complacency] is at training. They didn’t show that. I have wonderful leaders in this football club to lead the changing room and the training culture and they have showed through.”
As with any game through the first half the 2022 campaign, Head Coach John Hutchinson’s focus is on playing a Locomotive brand of football. Through training this week, the Locos continued to work in areas they felt they needed improvement. The technical staff spoke to the wingers to be more aggressive in the attack and get in behind defensive lines. The team worked with the defense to work on stopping opposition on the transitions.
In the last two weeks, Locomotive has seen Midfielders Emmanuel Sonupe and Sebastian Velasquez return to the squad from injury. Midfielders Eric Calvillo and Christiano Francois as well as Defender Shavon John-Brown has returned from the international commitments to their respective nations. Midfielder Liam Rose has also made it to El Paso and has been in full training, getting up to pace with the Locomotive style of play.
With the First Team squad nearly back at its full potential, the training has returned to the high level of intensity that Locomotive saw just before the 5-0 win over Monterey. There is an effort from the full squad and a willingness to continue to improve and hopefully finish the season in a good position to bring silverware back to El Paso.
For now, El Paso Locomotive is taking each week game-by-game. This week, the Locos are just excited to be back in front of the El Paso fans for the first time since the start of June. El Paso Locomotive has not lost at Southwest University Park since March 23. Through the 2022 season, there has been no shortage of exciting Locomotive matches. This weekend will be no different as Locomotive intends to entertain the crowd and come away with the one result that everyone wants.
“I love playing at home here,” Fox said. “We always come out with a lot of confidence and the intention with every game at home is to go and get the three points. We have been fairly good at home over the last three years, and we hope to implement that again and play an entertaining brand for the fans to enjoy.”