In a perfect NJ summer night the Red Bulls were far from being perfect, but they will trade efficiency for perfection if it means putting an end to their 4 game losing streak. In a game marred by 2 questionable red cards for the visitors, it was the Red Bulls early determination that proved to be the deciding factor in their first win since May 10th.
Jesse Marsch made a few changes to the line up that played against the Vancouver Whitecaps over the weekend. In defense, Matt Miazga made his first start since his return from U20 duty along side Damien Perinelle, while Connor Lade and Kemar Lawrence were the full backs. In the midfield McCarty and Felipe were complemented by Sean Davis, who filled in for the suspended Kljestan. Up front Abang got his first MLS start, while Wright-Philips, and Mike Grella were on the wings.
The Red Bulls came out with every intent to end their losing string, and saw themselves in the Real’s final third early on, Abang saw an early shot deflected for a corner, and two minutes later Lawrence would find Sean Davis in the center of the box to assist Grella. The young midfielder turned his body to direct the ball towards the far post, and an opportune Mike Grella finished the play with an easy tap in, for his 4th goal of the season.
Three minutes in, and Marsch’s men couldn’t have asked for a better start of the game. Real was caught by the Red Bull’s determination to stop their losing skid, and there was little they could do. Fortunately for Real the initial 5 minute barrage by the Red Bulls was all there was, as game play became dull and predictable.
In the 40th minute, the game would finally get a jolt, as Real’s Morales would receive marching orders from the referee after taking down Felipe who was on a break away towards Rimando’s goal. Taking advantage of a long throw by Robles, Felipe was able to slip between two defenders and find himself in a foot race with Morales and Beltran. Morales mis-timed his tackle, and swept Felipe’s legs from under him. The referee initially hesitated to make the call, but the 4th official had gotten a good look at the infraction, and communicated what he had seen to the man in the center. The red card was highly contested by Real’s players as Felipe was 40 yards from goal, but the fact of the matter is that Felipe was through on goal, and he was brought down from behind by Morales, Real also argued that Beltran was also in chase, but he was a couple steps behind.
At the half, the Red Bulls were up on the scoreboard, and with a man advantage. It hadn’t been a very good half for either team by any stretch of the imagination, but New York deserved to be up on the scoreboard as they had been the team who had more of the game’s initiative especially in the initial minutes of the game. New York’s midfield lacked some of the possession the team has accustomed their fan base to, and Wright-Phillips on the left wing did very little to give the team a much needed fresh dynamic.
With the game still within reach, Real came out of the locker room determined to not let the game get out of their reach, the Red Bulls on the other hand, were trying to find the extra space created by the 1 man advantage. Mike Grella put Nick Rimando to the test in the 52nd minute with a driven shot to which the veteran keeper responded with a one handed save. Three minutes later the referee would once again reach into his left pocket, this time to punish a awkward tackle by Phillips on Conor Lade. The challenge by Phillips was undoubtedly a hard and fair one, but the follow through with the studs up may have been what caught the referee’s attention.
With the a two man advantage the game became a lot easier to control for the Red Bulls who camped out in Real’s half, and tried to breakdown Real’s defensive organization. Jesse Marsch introduced Zizzo and Duvall for Wright-Phillips and Lade(suffering from Phillips challenge) respectively. The Red Bulls naturally assumed complete control of the game, but couldn’t put away the few chances they were creating, and would finish the game with the lead they got in the 3rd minute.
Not the best performance by the Red Bulls, but they will take the 3 points, and put their 4 game losing streak behind them. Interesting decision by Jesse Marsch to put their most prolific goal scorer on the wing, after the game Marsch explained that the intention was to have BWP step into the space behind Abang and create mismatches with the run of play. Kljestan’s absence was very obvious as the Red Bulls’ midfield was missing some of the sharp combinations, and ball control they have had in past games. Despite the poor performance, Marsch has to be encouraged by the play of Sean Davis and Abang. Abang, and Davis may not be first choices, but the minutes played not only help build their confidence, but it also provides valuable experience, and for a club who wants to take an organic approach, it certainly is crucial that their young players get this type of experience.
The Red Bulls will now travel across the Hudson river to play NYCFC, interesting enough, the win against Real Salt Lake was the Red Bulls’ first win since beating NYCFC back on the 10th of May. With the win against Salt Lake the Red Bulls are hoping to get back to winning ways, but the team they will encounter at Yankee stadium this Sunday will be a different team than the one they played back in May.
Alfredo Fumacas @talkingtodadoll
