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Red Bulls 2, Earthquakes 1 (A Look Back and a look ahead)

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It wasn't a league match, or even an official U.S. Open Cup match, but the Red Bulls will gladly take their 2-1 U.S. Open Cup Play-in victory over San Jose. Especially after Sunday's heart-breaking loss to D.C. United.

Head coach Juan Carlos Osorio rested several starters on Wednesday night, allowing his bench players to make their cases for more playing time. Some player stepped up while some other struggled to do much.

Here is a look at how the Red Bulls players did individually on Wednesday:

Here are Red Bulls player ratings, courtesy of SBI correspondent Sean Rubio, who covered the match:

Danny Cepero: 6 – Didn't have much to do.  Let for dead on the goal.

Carlos Johnson: 5.5 – Did not come forward very often in the first half, sent a few crosses in late, had some trouble dealing with Convey.

Andrew Boyens: 6.5– Did well matching up with Somma and Campos.  Somma was a complete ghost in the first half thanks to Boyens.

Mike Petke: 5– Had serious issues with Amarikwa all night.  His positioning was usually solid, but has definitely lost a step (or four)

Danleigh Borman: 7– Did well matching up on Salinas. Gave him space, but did not let him get any problematic crosses in the box.  Did well coming forward, and put in a few dangerous freekicks.

Juan Pietravallo: 6 – Was not very noticeable, which is probably a good thing.

Sinisa Ubiparipovic: 5.5– Like Pietravallo, name was not called that often. Unfortunately, he was asked to play in front of him with Sassano, so I wouldv'e liked to see him involve himself in the attack a bit more.

Luke Sassano: 7– Unlike Ubiparipovic, did well to be the point man on switching the play, and starting the attack.  Also did well as the first line of defense in breaking down San Jose.

Mac Kandji: 6.5– Did very well against Leitch the first half, requiring the help of Salinas as well.  For whatever reason, the second half began with Oduro breaking free, so Mac didn't have much to do, hence the substitution for Mbuta.  Should have finished his 1-on-1 chance though.

Dominic Oduro: 6– Virtually non-existent in the first half, came to life in the second half, asking all kinds of questions of Zaher.

John Wolyniec: 7 – More than just the goal, did well in general to hold the ball and try to get Kandji, Oduro, and Mbuta into the match.  When the wing players have time and space, that means the point man has been doing something right.

Matt Mbuta: 5.5– Was giving a few great diagonal balls from Oduro, but could not do anything with them.

Jeremy Hall: N/A– 86th minute sub, not enough time to make an impact

—————

So what should we expect to see on Saturday vs. Los Angeles? Here is the lineup we could see:

————–Angel———–Kandji—————–

Rojas—————————————-Richards

—————Stammler—Sassano——————

Pacheco—-Goldthwaite—Mendes————–Hall

———————–Conway————————-

You would think that Petke would get consideration after scoring a goal vs. San Jose, but he struggled with rookie Quincy Amarikwa's pace and might not have done enough to move past Mendes. Now, if Mendes can't play because of the shoulder injury that kept him out last week, Petke would have to be considered for the starting lineup.

Borman enjoyed a solid showing vs. the Earthquakes and could get the call on the left flank. It should be noted that Borman played well vs. LA last year, scoring a goal at Home Depot Center. Will this be the game that Khano Smith moves out of the starting lineup? It should be, although Smith's ability to track back defensively allows Alfredo Pacheco to get forward. Jorge Rojas probably can't provide that same cover if he plays on the left.

If Stammler's ailing knee doesn't let him play vs. LA, would Osorio give Pietravallo a look, or will he be forced to pair Rojas and Sassano centrally, with Smith on the left?

What did you think of the Red Bulls victory on Wednesday? What lineup would you like to see on Saturday vs. LA? Would a win over the Galaxy, coupled with the win vs. San Jose on Wednesday, make you start feeling optimistic about the Red Bulls' season?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. yo zoti what i meant was both our teams are shitty yours was just a bit lesslast night. let me tell you rbny was not much to write home about, but then again i’m sure you know that.

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  2. the only problem in hall’s game that I see is when he tracks back from his overlapping runs he does not get goal side of his man..maybe he is figuring he is faster which he probably is but i would still rather him position himself correctly..johnson should not start bc he is a liability

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  3. Lazer, angel only sat the bench becuase this game isn’t as crucial as the weekend’s game. They have 4 games in 10 days for this stretch of the season, and osorio really wants to start a full lineup this weekend (celadas inlcuded). He may not run all the time, but he scores with the few chances he takes he is just that good.

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  4. ^^^^^^^ROJAS being CAM … a 3-4-1-2 (borman hustles on defense so he can have left side lock down as long as pacheco dont sleep

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  5. i think we should play the following
    _____Angel_________Kandji__________
    Rojas
    Borman_____ stammler_ Celades_ Richards
    Pacheco__Mendez__ Hall
    CONWAY

    Reply
  6. Guys, Wolyniec’s missing grade was an oversight. It’s been added. And Zazza, you have a lot to say for someone who wrote this about Dane Richards last fall during the Houston playoff series, “That’s cool that Dane is going to MLS Cup. I wonder where his seats are going to be.” Good call there πŸ™‚

    And no, I won’t be in LA Zach. I wish I was, but there’s too many trips this year between national team and MLS, so I have to pick my spots.

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  7. you guys just made a bit of less mistakes.

    Posted by: franks from sf | April 30, 2009 at 03:47 PM

    This is my brother favorite excuse when I beat his ass in ping-pong “We’re on the same level, I just more mistakes than you” πŸ™‚

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  8. It is great to see JCO finally sit Angel. After his last few perfomaces we (as fans) deserve to see a player who is out there on the field hustling and not being a pre-madonna always waving his hands and standing in an off sides position. Cheers to Woly! He should be playing a larger role for the team. Although he is not a flashy pre-madonna type like Angel, he get’s (stuff) done and is a producer. That is what we the fans want…It is ashame that this column writer does not mention Wolly’s contribution. JCO if you are reading this…. kick Angel in the ass and tell him to knock that (crap) off…Hustle is the name of the game and he has shown nothing this season.

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  9. Good result

    this weekend i hope to see a lineup similar to this

    —————–Kandji—————–Angelβ€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”-

    Borman—————–Ubi————————–Mbuta(richards)

    β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”-Stammlerβ€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

    Pachecoβ€”β€”β€”β€”-Goldyβ€”β€”β€”-Mendez(petke)β€”-Hall

    β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”conway—————————–

    IMO ubi has done a much better than rojas has with the time he has been given. He seems to be a very smart player and has progressed nicely since we first drafted him. Borman isn’t an ideal quality starter for the left mid position but hell I would take anyone over khano, and mbuta doesn’t do to much, but he also doesn’t do much wrong either. He is probibly on the same level skill wise as borman, and so both probibly just a temporary solution. We should still be searching for players to bring in in the transfer window for those positions. Johnson fouls constantly and is always on the ground, i would rather play it safe and use hall there, maybe he isn’t as good a defender as johnson but any defender is better than a defender that is just going to be kicked off the field.

    If Celadas is good to go i would like to see

    —————–Kandji—————–Angelβ€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”-

    Bormanβ€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”Mbuta(richards)

    ——————–Celadas—–Stammler————————–

    Pachecoβ€”β€”β€”β€”-Goldyβ€”β€”β€”-Mendez(petke)β€”-Hall

    β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”conway—————————–

    Reply
  10. I want the Red Bulls to win something this year and I’ll take the US Open Cup.

    I’d like to see Celades in the lineup once he is ready to perform.

    I want to see the Red Bulls close out games consistently. In the final five minutes or so, the Red Bulls have already surrendered five points this season; these lapses may come back to haunt them.

    Reply
  11. Congrats to Luke and Danleigh on a game well played. Didn’t see the game but Ubiparapovic seemed to have a key pass to Oduro for the game winner; as such, should his grade be higher than a 5.5 (with 5 being lowest grade given out)?

    Also, no grade for Woly?

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  12. Good credit to RBNY for winning this match. Condensed schedule, USOC qualifier, on the road, many key players sitting out–it would have been easy to mail this one in but the team didn’t.

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  13. i was at the game and let me tell you it wasn’t pretty. not to take anything away from your team but as i saw it we gifted you guys the 1st goal for sure. also you didn’t mention how cepero got caught on the shot of amarikwa that was actually a goal, but it happened so fast and at a weird angle that the (crappy) referees didn’t give it to the ‘quakes. you guys just made a bit of less mistakes. also pietravallo wasn’t the best but he was the only one that kept on swiching the ball to oduro , not sassano.regardless poor played game on both sides.

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  14. I’m not putting too much into the win vs. SJ. However, based on our overall play against KC and DC, yes I’m getting more optimistic for the rest of the season. The wins will come if we continue to put in that kind of effort (not withstanding the last 2 minutes of the DC game of course).

    Reply
  15. Smith has the ability to track back on defense? Did I miss a game?

    Kandji Angel
    Borman Rojas Richards
    Stammler (Celades if healthy)
    Pacheco Goldy Mendes Hall
    Conway

    Reply

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