Heading into Sunday’s pivotal second leg, both the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United are viewing the current situation as a metaphorical halftime, for better or for worse.

For the New York Red Bulls, that means that the current 1-0 aggregate lead sees them only halfway to the conference finals, with a rugged D.C. club chomping at the bit to climb back into it. For D.C. United, that means that there is still a further 90 minutes of life, plenty of time for a team that has battled together for the better part of several seasons.

“We know that there’s still a big job to finish here, so we’re not taking anything for granted,” Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch told reporters. “We like playing at home in front of our fans, but we’re in every way going to step on the field and be ready for an absolute battle knowing that D.C. is going to come here and throw absolutely everything at us.”

“They are better at home. They’re as good in New York as any team in this league,” Olsen said following the loss. “It’s a very tough place to play. I don’t care. That doesn’t concern me or these guys. It’s a great challenge now to go in there and get the result that we need.”

The first leg, by Red Bulls-D.C. United standards, was a slightly dull affair, at least scoring-wise. Due to Bill Hamid’s heroics in net, a Dax McCarty header separated the two sides, giving the Red Bulls a coveted away goal. By and large, the Red Bulls were able to contain a tricky D.C. United attack, which mustered zero shots on target.

Yet, physically, the game had plenty to offer. Red Bulls centerback Damien Perinelle saw his season ended with a knee injury, forcing Ronald Zubar into the lineup. The French centerback proceeded to nearly earn a red card with a vicious tackle on Markus Halsti. Olsen told reporters that he was surprised not to see Zubar earn further punishment for his tackle, but he insisted that it will have little impact on the task at hand.

A centerback change that will have a major impact will be the addition of Bobby Boswell, who will rejoin the D.C. United lineup after serving a suspension of his own for an incident with Juan Agudelo.

With Boswell returning, D.C. United still does have several injury issues to be concerned with. Both Chris Pontius and Sean Franklin remain questionable, as the team may once again be a bit short-handed during this weekend’s clash.

That doesn’t bode well for a D.C. side that is 0-3-1 against the Red Bulls this season. Yet, in a one-game playoff, Olsen is not one to write off his side’s chances quite yet.

“We have a belief we can go there and get the result we need,” Olsen told reporters Wednesday. “We look at it as a great challenge and one we are looking forward to. We understand it’s not going to be easy. But when is it going to be easy to go through the playoffs when you are not going to have to overcome some odds? In some ways, our group relishes those type of situations and we usually respond to them.”

For D.C. to respond, they will have to find a way to best a shorthanded Red Bull backline. Zubar and 19-year-old Matt Miazga are likely to start for the Red Bulls, and they enter Sunday’s clash with very few minutes on the field together. Their relative inexperience as a partnership could open the door for forwards Alvaro Saborio and Fabian Espindola to sneak through and create the vital chance that D.C. needs.

Marsch is well aware of the danger. Citing the duo’s trickery, Marsch said that D.C. United could easily get a goal from a counter or a set piece, one that would change the entire complexion of the series.

“We’ll be ready, from the first whistle, to get after the game like we always do,” Marsch said, “and push the tempo and go after them and play hard and compete and be aggressive in the attacking part of the field. We’re not going into this game with the mindset of ‘protecting a lead.’ We’re going in it to be aggressive and expand on the lead and finish the game. We also know that D.C. is going to come in here and throw everything that they have, so these games usually set up to have wild endings, crazy moments. We’ll be ready for them.

“We’re looking forward to it, just like we did the first leg,” Marsch added. “These are fun games to play in and mean a lot to everybody. We’ll be ready to go.”