A Huge Win: New York Red Bulls defeat Real Salt Lake

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.

 

 

New York Red Bulls vs. Real Salt Lake : A Huge Match for Both Teams

The stakes could not get much higher for a regular season game in Major League Soccer (MLS) than Saturday night, when the New York Red Bulls host Real Salt Lake at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ at 7 PM.

 

MSG Network will have the TV coverage in the New York / NJ metro market, and believe it or not, the local ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City will be airing this match live for that market and their loyal fans.

 

Background

 

The Red Bulls enter the match in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference tied with the Montreal Impact with 32 points (www.mlssoccer.com). The last game played by New York was on July 20th which ended as a 0-0 tie in Toronto.

 

The Red Bulls have allowed 0 goals in their last two games and they trail Sporting Kansas City for first place in the East by 4 points (www.mlssoccer.com).

 

Real Salt Lake (RSL) enters this match as the top team, not only in the Western Conference, but the top team in the league with 37 points. They hold the lead in what is known as the Supporters Shield which is the name of the honor given by MLS to the team with the best overall regular season record (www.mlssoccer.com).

 

The team from Utah is a powerhouse team with a record of 11 wins 6 losses and 4 ties. The match on Saturday night will be the only regular season meeting between the two teams this season.

 

The two teams met last season in Utah in the second game of the season in March 2012, and RSL defeated the Red Bulls by a score of 2-0 (www.nbcsports.com). The all time head-to-head record for the meetings of these two teams has New York with a record of 3 wins, 5 losses, and 7 ties. The Red Bulls have won all three of those games in the series at home against RSL, the information on the records was provided by MLS archives on their website.

 

A Fan’s Perspective

 

My perspective as a fan that watches the Red Bulls frequently is one of excitement and cautious optimism for this big match. New York plays really well at home in front of their dedicated fans at the Red Bull Arena.

 

The Red Bulls are coming off a disappointing result to Toronto FC where they could not score a goal against a team which is one of the worst defensive teams in the MLS. So they need this game as a “bounce back game” or as former NFL legend and soon to be Hall of Famer, Warren Sapp, would call it a “get right game”.

 

Red Bulls head coach, Mike Petke, will have his team prepared well for this match. He knows RSL coach Jason Kreis very well as they are contemporaries having played in MLS during the same period of time, and then moved into coaching immediately after their playing days ended.

 

I have seen Real Salt Lake play a few times here and there this season, and have read the news coverage around them throughout the season. The team was my preseason pick to win the MLS Cup championship this year. My prediction looks pretty solid right now.

 

RSL is a very talented team with incredible depth. They will need it on Saturday night because, in another key reason why I like New York to win this game, RSL will be travelling east very short handed.

Beckerman, Beltran, and Rimando (their starting goalkeeper) will all miss this game because they will be playing for Team USA in the international tournament called the Gold Cup (www.nbcsports.com).

 

Then, Saunders (their backup goalie), Salcedo, Schuler, and three other role players are out for this game due to injury. Finally, Chris Wingert, who is a key player for their side, is suspended due to his total of yellow cards for rough play (www.mlssoccer.com).

 

Analysis

 

In watching Real Salt Lake play, and having played soccer myself and with my tactical knowledge of the sport; I have observed some things about their approach and strategy. They are very well organized, they play excellent defense, and can be very well disciplined.

 

They tend to stay pretty narrow through the midfield, using shorter, more precise passes to transition into the attacking third of the field. They have very talented forwards, notably Robbie Findley, Olmes Garcia, and Joao Plata. That trio is very dangerous and the Red Bulls need to be prepared defensively to combat their attack.

In the midfield, they have in my opinion, their most talented player in Javier Morales. Morales is a dynamic playmaker and passer, who can also put shots on goal with great accuracy. He is a very difficult player to defend, and the Red Bulls are going to have to determine their best man to defend him pretty early on in this game.

 

Their fullbacks also have a tendency to slide up into attack position, particularly their outside fullbacks, which can create problems for their opponents. However, I think New York has the personnel to counter this element of their attack.

 

The big wild card in this game is Jeff Attinella, he is their number 3 goalie, but because of the injuries and the players missing from the Gold Cup, he will start in goal for RSL on Saturday night. He has very limited experience, and I think the Red Bulls can capitalize on that inexperience to win this match.

 

The Red Bulls looked very tight when I saw them play against Montreal on July 13. The offense looked incredibly crisp, and defensively they played very well and had excellent structure in that game against an outstanding offensive opponent.

 

The key players for the Red Bulls are: Fabian Espindola, Tim Cahill, Thierry Henry, Dax McCarty, Jamison Olave, and their goalie Luis Robles.

 

McCarty makes that list because he may have to mark up and defend Morales. Espindola is playing against his former team, having spent many years with RSL, it will be his first game as well as Olave’s first game against their former teammates since the offseason trade which landed them both in New York.

 

Olave looked solid to me in the Montreal game, he was all over the defensive third of the field making plays on the ball. The play of Robles too was very impressive, he was very good at protecting the goal, particularly on corner kicks. He will be tested early and often by RSL in this game.

 

Tim Cahill should be able to make some plays through the midfield to transition the Red Bulls in this game, and I think Henry is determined to have a great performance against RSL, who he has always respected. If you remember, it was Henry that really engineered that trade for Espindola and Olave because he liked the RSL style of play and wanted those guys with him in New York.

 

Henry and Espindola both being “on their game” in this match could be too much for a shorthanded RSL side to handle.

 

Prediction

 

I think the Red Bulls win this match by a score of 3-1. I like that they have the home field advantage, a more talented group of 11, and RSL has an inexperienced goalkeeper. It should be a great match, which could be a championship game preview. I look forward to watching on Saturday night, and reviewing it next week. My favorite team, the Red Bulls against the best team in Real Salt Lake. This is MLS soccer at its best.