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Red Bulls Report: Cameron Harper talks early success of his season

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Red Bulls Cameron Harper
Cameron Harper.
Photo Credit: New York Red Bulls

Red Bulls forward Cameron Harper wasn’t on the field over the weekend when New York faced Minnesota United. He was back in New Jersey watching the game while recovering from a concussion that forced him to leave the previous match early. 

However, Harper will be back this Saturday for the Red Bulls’ match with the Columbus Crew, he confirmed in an exclusive phone conversation with amNewYork. 

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“I think just being cautious last weekend not playing,” Harper said. “I feel good now. I’m in full training and I’m cleared, so I can play on the weekend I’m pretty sure. I think it was just my first concussion, So it’s just kind of taking a cautious measure and making sure everything was okay. But it’s all good now.”

Still, missing the Red Bulls’ 1-1 draw against Minnesota was a bit of a frustrating moment for Harper, who has been having a strong start to the year. This year he had been in the starting 11 in New York’s first two games of the season and his 176 minutes of playing time is the fifth most on the Red Bulls. 

“Sometimes these things happen and you can’t plan for them,” he said of the injury. “You just kind of got to react to it and make sure you’re good to go as soon as possible.”

Harper had earned praise from head coach Gerhard Struber after the first two games of the season, with Struber specifically mentioning Harper in his opening statement after the home opener on March 8. 

The 21-year-old forward has been with the Red Bulls organization since he made the jump to MLS via a transfer from Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. And he has seen a growing role with the club since last season, when he appeared in 17 matches and started in six. 

Several injuries last year cut the season short, but it never took away from the growing trust it appeared that Struber has had for him since the season started. During the offseason focused on being versatile in his game and allowing the Red Bulls to utilize him in various places on the field. 

Red Bulls
Photo Credit: New York Red Bulls

“First of all, he is dynamic and he has speed,”  Struber said. “And this helps always a football player to realize and play in more positions. The next is his technical power. He has a very good first touch. He has a good orientation and this helps him also to realize in more positions to perform.”

Struber had told Harper after last season that this would be a year that he started for New York, but Harper wasn’t sure how many minutes the Red Bulls would use him for after coming off several injuries the previous season. The most that Harper played in the preseason had been 45 minutes, so appearing in 90 during the season opener was a surprise.  

“I think it was definitely a big boost for my confidence when I first started the first game and played well,” Harper said. “I think it was obviously maybe not the ideal start for the team, but in terms of myself, it allowed me to build off it and play well against Nashville.”

The Red Bulls finally ended their goal drought last weekend after nearly 229 minutes of soccer this MLS season. It was Andrés Reyes who finally scored New York’s first goal of the season to get one monkey off the team’s back. 

They’re still looking for their first win of the year going into this weekend’s game tilt with Columbus. 

“I think the most relief that you can get is always a victory,” Struber said when asked abou breaking the goal drought. “I think this is right now. So the most important thing for that is that we have to fight and (leave) everything on the field. That (way) we can celebrate after the gamea victory I think in this direction we have to do it all. And yeah, of course it was good to know that right now we’ve opened the door.

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