The New York Red Bulls earned a huge victory on Saturday night over Real Salt Lake in front of a spirited home crowd at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The final score was 4-3 with the game winning goal coming from Dax McCarty in “stoppage time” in the 94th minute.
It was the third goal of the season for McCarty, and it could not have come at a better time for the Red Bulls, who with this victory drew to within one point of first place Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer.
A Wild Start
The match got off to a wild start with the Red Bulls striking first on a beautiful goal by star midfielder Tim Cahill. That put the home team up 1-0 and got the crowd energized early.
Then, a controversial call gave New York a penalty shot just minutes later on a play where the two players got tangled up in the penalty area. The Red Bulls converted the penalty shot and held a 2-0 lead.
However, just before halftime, the referee made another controversial decision inside the penalty area. This time, the foul was called on the Red Bulls, which resulted in a penalty shot for Real Salt Lake (R.S.L.).
On the replays, I thought the call could have easily gone the other way, because the R.S.L. player was trying to impede progress to the ball as well. In any event, Alvaro Saborio buried the penalty shot passed the Red Bulls goalie, Robles, and now it was a 2-1 score line at the half.
A Second Half of Wild Momentum Swings
The early minutes of the second half featured renewed vigor by the short-handed R.S.L. side, who were missing key players due to injuries, suspension, and U.S. National team commitments for the Gold Cup.
R.S.L. played like the best team in the league by stringing together precision passing with brilliant runs by their deftly skilled offensive players. They caught the Red Bulls off guard up the side touch line, and New York made a series of successive defensive mistakes which allowed R.S.L. to get the ball to Saborio.
Saborio drilled a shot past a diving Robles, who was playing out of position when the pass entered the penalty area, and now we had a “level” match at 2-2.
The Red Bulls fought back and battled the skilled R.S.L. side but had another series of lapses defensively and Alvaro Saborio netted his third goal of the match on a shot that no goalie in the world could have saved. The team from Utah had scored two goals in a 10 minute span to take the lead 3-2.
The collective energy was drained out of Red Bull Arena, I sat at home watching on MSG Network in complete shock. I could not believe that the Red Bulls had a two goal lead at home, and now trailed R.S.L. in this match.
The Comeback and the clincher
The Red Bulls again battled back in this match. A critical moment came in the 89th minute when the referee called yet another foul in the penalty area, this time on Real Salt Lake, which resulted in another penalty kick for New York.
Fabian Espindola, who in my preview on Friday I wrote was a key player for New York, drilled the penalty shot past Jeff Attinella, the R.S.L. goalkeeper, and the match was tied again 3-3. It was, in my opinion and that of other reporters, Espindola’s best game in a Red Bulls uniform.
Due to the high volume of fouls called in this game, the referee signaled for five minutes of stoppage time to be added on. The two sides exchanged more aggressive back and forth battles for possession of the ball, in what was a fast paced match from the opening kick until the final whistle.
It was a chess match between the two coaching contemporaries: Mike Petke for New York and Jason Kreis for Real Salt Lake. Both teams came well prepared and seemed able to counter the moves of the other side.
In the 94th minute, time running out, in what I thought was going to end as a tie, thus giving New York only one point in the standings, the Red Bulls broke through. A beautiful pass into the penalty area was driven home on a diving header by Dax McCarty into the back of the net past Attinella.
McCarty ran and pulled off his jersey and tossed it into the stands in elation. The home crowd was going wild, the Red Bulls won the match 4-3 in stunning fashion against the best team in MLS.
Looking Ahead
The MLS All Star Game will be held this Wednesday night (9 PM EST, ESPN2) in Kansas City. The Red Bulls will be represented by Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill.
Then the Red Bulls will play in Kansas City against first place S.K.C. on August 3rd in a huge game for both teams. The Red Bulls continue their road swing playing at Columbus on August 10th and then returning home to face the Philadelphia Union on August 17th. The road ahead is difficult but this win should provide a great deal of confidence as the Red Bulls begin the second half push to the playoffs.