The New York Red Bulls marketing department had, in my opinion, a very catchy slogan for the team and their MLS Playoff campaign called: “Run With Us”. The team marketed this slogan on billboards, on their internet advertising, on their website, print materials, and on social media. The use of the hash tag on Twitter was prevalent in the days leading up to the playoffs.
Well, last night the “Run” for the Red Bulls ended as did the marketing campaign and, most importantly the Red Bulls aspirations of advancing in the playoffs. New York lost to the Houston Dynamo in the 2 game Eastern Conference Semifinals Series by an aggregate score of 4-3.
I was there in the stands at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey and I could not believe that the magical season for the Red Bulls ended last night.
Opportunities Lost
The Red Bulls had numerous opportunities in this game to put away the Dynamo and they fell short. New York controlled the entire game, outplaying Houston in every facet. They took a lead early in the game on a cross by Lloyd Sam which the Houston goalkeeper, Tally Hall, mishandled and fumbled to the feet of New York forward Bradley Wright-Phillips, who promptly kicked it into the net for a goal.
The crowd at Red Bull Arena exploded following the goal, the feeling in the stadium was that this game would be the end to the Red Bulls streak of consecutive losses in a row at home in the playoffs which stood at 6 games going into the game last night (www.mlssoccer.com).
Then, about ten minutes later, New York defender Ibrahim Sekagya made an ill-advised and errant pass inside his own penalty area which was intercepted by Houston team captain Brad Davis. Davis drilled a close range shot past Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles, and the game, as well as the series, was now tied.
New York had numerous attempts to recapture the lead in the game and reverse the tide of the series and could not capitalize on them. Tim Cahill deflected Thierry Henry’s initial shot but Hall made the save for Houston. The fans in my section could not believe that they missed a goal in that sequence.
In the 65th minute, Henry had a header go off the crossbar and miss scoring, and he had an incredible bicycle kick in overtime which was steered away wide of the goal by a diving Tally Hall. In total, the Red Bulls had 23 scoring attempts to Houston totaling just 9 (www.mlssoccer.com).
New York had 9 shots on target and Houston had 3. New York outshot Houston 19 to 7, and had 42 crossing passes to Houston totaling just 13 (www.mlssoccer.com).
Observations from the Stands
In my view from the stands I observed several aspects of this game that stood out to me, and having watched this Red Bulls team compete all season over nine months I have come to know them very well.
The officiating of this match was terribly inconsistent, and calls were made on both sides that were questionable. The New York fans were irate at certain points of the match as well over some dubious calls by the referee. Overall, there were too many fouls called, a total of 36, which completely disrupted the flow of the game.
The inconsistency also was present in numerous challenges and tackles for possession of the ball which looked like a foul had taken place and no foul would be called; only to have a subsequent play which looked innocuous and a foul would be issued at that point.
The Red Bulls looked tentative during most of this game, Head Coach Mike Petke made comments after the game that his players rushed their passes and crosses at times (www.mlssoccer.com). I would agree with that assessment, the crosses from where I was sitting looked as though the timing was disrupted on them.
I expected the Red Bulls to come out flying after Houston tied the score and they did not, they did not go full throttle after some balls I thought they could have made plays on, I did not understand their hesitation. New York knew that the Dynamo would leave three to four players back on defense to avoid losing the game since they were the road team, and that is the strategy most road teams would employ in that situation.
Therefore, in order for the Red Bulls to generate scoring chances they would have to bring forward several players to get a numbers advantage on the Dynamo, I do not think they did that enough in the later minutes of this game.
The red card suspension of Jamison Olave from the first game of the series on Sunday loomed over the game last night, I could not help but wonder if we would have had a different result with his presence in the lineup. The Red Bulls did play well on defense though overall, they just made a few mistakes at critical junctures.
From my vantage point in the stadium I did not get a very good view of the deciding goal scored in overtime by Omar Cummings. I actually thought that it was saved by Robles until I saw the Dynamo players celebrating in a group. I was still hopeful at that point that the Red Bulls could score a goal before the end of overtime, they had some chances, but in the end it was not their night.
Moving Forward
I exited the Red Bull Arena last night surrounded by fellow Red Bulls fans, and it was very quiet. Most of us, myself included, were in shock that the season was now over.
Many questions remain unanswered about this team. Some of those questions will be answered in the offseason which begins now for New York. Will this same roster of players return next season? Will the front office make some changes to the role players? Will they add a star player via trade or outside acquisition?
So many questions, and the weeks ahead will provide the answers. Some members of the media today have questioned whether the Red Bulls season should be looked at as a breakthrough or a disappointment? (www.nydailynews.com) I am not sure I know the answer to that question yet either.
Other reporters have pointed out that the elimination of the Red Bulls cost MLS the opportunity to have their championship game played in the New York area. That is a valid point, the game being played in New York would have brought enhanced media attention to the MLS Cup.
Last night as I exited the stadium into the dark night, fans were throwing the promotional cards that read: “Run With Us” on the sidewalk. The brisk autumn wind kicked up and scattered those cards in the air like leaves. I watched them flutter through the air, filled with disappointment, when I realized that this team had turned a corner.
I began to think about all of their dramatic victories this season and realized that there will be more of those games and performances to come. I look forward now to next season when myself and my fellow loyal Red Bulls fans will begin another “run” with this team that we all are so passionate about.