The first leg fixture of the home-and-home eastern conference semifinal series between the New York Red Bulls and DC United was already surrounded in controversy before the game even kicked off this past Saturday. New York finished third in the standings and DC finished second but due to Superstorm Sandy, the teams agreed to switch hosting duties as the New York/New Jersey Metro area recovered from the devastating storm. In front of a packed RFK, DC was looking to continue its home form and make sure NY continued their abysmal 2012 road form.
Hans Backe kept 10 of his 11 starters against Philadelphia on the field for this match. The lone switch being Sebastian Le Toux for Kenny Cooper, as Backe wanted more pace and hold up play on the road. It didn’t matter who played for New York up top because the forwards rarely saw the ball in the first half as DC really pushed its weight around the Red Bulls back line. Their main target, rookie defender Connor Lade, had his worst performance since the April 22nd thrashing at RFK. Lade, who received an early yellow card for a foul on DC forward Chris Pontius, was late to almost every challenge he went in for. Not only was Pontius besting him, but also Chris Korb had a fantastic game at left back. Pontius and Korb really worked over Lade and whoever was helping him defend NY’s right flank. With Dax McCarty as the right midfielder, there was not much help in front of Lade on counters, as McCarty, along with the left midfielder Joel Lindpere, often would tuck centrally exposing the flanks. Heath Pearce also had a tough time with Andy Najar on his flank, showing DC had a gameplan that should have spelled the doom for New York: attack down the flanks and avoid the central trio of Tainio, Marquez, and Holgersson.
It is no doubt DC’s play down the flanks influenced much of their chances and there’s two major examples of it: the penalty call in the first half and the New York own goal in the second. Connor Lade struggled after his early yellow and gave away a penalty not long after. Luckily for Lade and the rest of New York, Luis Robles was up to task and pushed Chris Pontius’s effort wide. Upon the beginning of the second half, I believed Lade would be subbed off in favor of Jan Gunnar Solli but instead it was Roy Miller in for an “injured” Rafa Marquez. NBC Sports Kyle Martino revealed that Hans Backe and Marquez had words following the end of the first half but it was precautionary as Marquez had tightness in his calf. A likely excuse since Rafa had missed a plethora of matches with calf problems. Either way, it wouldn’t take long before Roy Miller would show his playoff self yet again. Miller’s only action recently has been with the Costa Rican National team in World Cup Qualifiers. He was injured late summer and Wilman Conde became a steady left back for NY that seemed to help stop the leaking of goals. 15 minutes into the second half, Chris Korb burned Connor Lade and sent in a pinpoint cross meant for an onrushing Nick DeLeon. Miller did well to always stay in front of the rookie but realized he had to make a play on the ball or else NY would be down 1-0. Well, Miller’s touch was a bit sublime as the ball found the upper corner, leaving Robles helpless. Not even 5 minutes later, however, the teams would stand equal after a DC own goal. Thierry Henry’s corner kick would go long past the far post and defender Heath Pearce got low to put the ball back into play. New York defender Markus Holgersson attempted to get his head to the ball but DC United’s goalkeeper, Bill Hamid, was there to parry it away. Unfortunately for the RFK faithful, Hamid seemed intent on catching it with one hand a la Randy Moss. Contact with Holgersson, whose eyes always followed the ball, led to Hamid being off-balance and dropping the ball behind the goal line and bringing the teams level. Shouts for a foul raged from Hamid who followed referee Jair Marrufo, who ignored Hamid’s rage and allowed the goal to stand. Many times goalkeepers will get that call but the assistant ref and Marrufo made the right call as Holgersson rightfully challenged for the ball while following it with his eyes and never looking in the direction of Hamid. I know DC fans are angry with Marrufo and Holgersson but they should aim their anger at their keeper. If Hamid had went up the way he has been trained to, with one knee raised and both hands, even to punch it, DC would be carrying a 1-0 lead into the second leg. In my preview I gave DC the clear advantage in net with Hamid over Robles. Hamid is supposedly the future of US goalkeeping while Robles was just days away form ending his career altogether. Robles put in a man of the match performance for New York in net with his penalty stop and his early low stop of Chris Korb’s shot.
It would just get more frustrating for DC as Andy Najar, a very clear threat to the Red Bulls earned himself a double booking by way of a tactical foul and a tossing of the ball that hit referee Marrufo in the midsection. Playing with 10, DC was able to counter every so often in the final 20 minutes as New York, who kept the majority of possession throughout the game, was unable to create more than one real threat in the closing minutes.
The series returns to Harrison, NJ on Wednesday for the possibility of extra time and penalties. DC will make adjustments without the use of Najar and New York should look to make at least two changes ahead of the match. Oh and a Nor’Easter should be hitting Red Bull Arena right about the time of kickoff.
(image courtesy of newyorkredbulls.com)
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