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New York Red Bulls at D.C. United: Matchday Commentary

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By AVI CREDITOR

Another installment of the Atlantic Cup takes place Saturday afternoon, as I-95 rivals D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls square off at RFK Stadium (4 p.m., Telefutura).

The Red Bulls (4-1-0) stand atop the Eastern Conference standings with 12 points through five matches, though Columbus is five points off the pace with two matches in hand. D.C. (0-4-0), however, is on the other end of the spectrum, still in search of its first point of the season.

There's reason for optimism in the nation's capital, though, as United is coming off a U.S. Open Cup victory on Wednesday and welcomes Luciano Emilio back into the fold after he re-signed with the team this week.

I'll be providing live commentary from RFK Stadium, so please feel free to follow along and share any thoughts or opinions in the comments section below. Enjoy the match (commentary after the jump).

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POSTGAME – That's all for me from RFK. Keep checking SBI for postgame reaction from players and coaches. Have a great night everybody!

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POSTGAME – D.C. falls by shutout for the fourth time in five matches, and remains without a point in dropping to 0-5-0. This isn't the old 12-team MLS. With 16 teams now vying for the playoffs, D.C. is in some serious trouble.

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POSTGAME – And that's it! New York takes the Atlantic Cup with a 2-0 victory over D.C. United. Salou Ibrahim and Juan Pablo Angel scored the goals, and New York maintains its impressive start by improving to 5-1-0.

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90th Minute – I'd normally be more cautious in calling this one a shutout before it's over, but D.C. looks ready to get off the pitch. The fluid passing and touches in the first half are a thing of the past.

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90th Minute – Conor Chinn comes on for Angel to kill off more of stoppage time. A much better second half from Angel.

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90th Minute – FOUR minutes of stoppage time. Not done yet. New York can thank Coundoul for those extra minutes under a scorching hot sun.

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89th Minute – Props to the New York defense for coming up with another strong performance. Granted, that unit is a minute away from being the fourth group to shut out D.C., but the Red Bulls fended off some early pressure to get to where they are now.

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88th Minute – Quick shot by Castillo parried away by Coundoul. Corner coming for D.C. with time ticking away.

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87th Minute – Emilio's possession deep in the New York end results in a turnover and a groan through the RFK crowd that's still here. Didn't take long for them to remember the Emilio isn't the player he once was.

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85th Minute – Emilio's cross to Moreno results in a header that hardly troubles Coundoul. This isn't 2007, that's for sure.

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84th Minute – Nice finish by Stammler, but he's well offside.

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83rd Minute – Angel can't hit it clean and lobs a shot over the bar. His finishing hasn't been as polished as we're used to seeing. He could've had a hat trick today, but he'll likely settle for one goal and the win.

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80th Minute – Ten minutes to go. Will New York really go to 15 points through six games? Will D.C. really have 0 through five? What in the name of parity is going on here?

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79th Minute – Coundoul juts out in front of Cristman to intercept a cross and he needs the medics again. Crowd not buying it, but he landed in a weird way. Benefit of the doubt goes to Bouna, who has avoided any critical errors today.

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78th Minute – Angel just misses from the top of the area after a nice series of touches by Hall and Borman. Angel and Richard's abilities to get more involved this half have been the difference.

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77th Minute – It's hard to see United breaking through the way things are going.

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76th Minute – United denied a penalty after Quaranta goes down by the six-yard box.

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75th Minute – Stephen King makes his D.C. United debut coming on for Clyde Simms. Four University of Maryland players on the pitch right now (Hall, Wallace, King, Stammler)

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74th Minute – Cristman out-jumps Petke for a long ball in the box, but his header goes wide right.

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73th Minute – Danleigh Borman's on for Dane Richards as the Red Bulls try to put this one away. Sorry for the momentary lapse in coverage. We had the obligatory internet outage in the RFK press box. Reason No. 4,899 that D.C. United needs a new stadium.

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69th Minute – Tony Tchani gets some instructions from Hans Backe, as it looks like the rookie will be joining the action any minute. D.C. pressing now.

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68th Minute – Simms saves a goal by beating Ibrahim to a header in front of Perkins. Richards had all day to make his run and set up that cross after dodging an early defender.

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67th Minute – Emilio and Cristman are teaming up at the top of the formation, Simms has shifted back to central defense and D.C. seeks to get on the scoreboard. Emilio nutmegs Hall on his first touch, but New York clears the danger.

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66th Minute – Emilio makes his return for D.C. United and gets a nice hand from an otherwise dejected crowd of 12,089.

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64th Minute – Moreno should have done better there. He got behind Petke and received a great through ball, but his shot never had a chance to be on frame. United needs better. Luciano Emilio set to check in for Pena.

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63rd Minute – After an inspired first half, D.C. has reverted back to the form that has them without a single point in the standings. New York has flipped the switch, and Angel, Richards and Ibrahim have seized control of this one.

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61st Minute – Angel out-jumped Pena for the cross hit by Lindpere, and Perkins was out of position. That was too easy.

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60th Minute GOAL NEW YORK!! Angel with a header off the simplest of long crosses. 2-0 New York!

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58th Minute – Castillo's offside by a couple steps on a run that would've sprung him on goal. Good call.

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57th Minute – Angel's cross from the right juuust out of Ibrahim's reach. Angel's been playing the role of distributor more than finisher today.

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57th Minute – After a terrible first half, Dane Richards has put together some nice runs for the visitors.

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56th Minute – Richards with a nice run down the right, but his cross is hit out by Talley for a corner.

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56th Minute – Moreno's in for Najar.

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55th Minute – Jaime Moreno ready to check in for D.C. at the next stoppage. Onalfo's hand has been forced, although perhaps this should've been a halftime move all along.

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54th Minute – Not the prettiest of finishes, but effective nonetheless, and New York plays with the 1-0 lead now.

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53rd Minute – A D.C. turnover allowed Angel to break out down the field. He found Richards to his right, who cut back on Rodney Wallace inside the area and crossed to Ibrahim.

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51st Minute GOAL NEW YORK!! Salou Ibrahim manages to tuck it home on a slow-rolling touch off the right post!

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49th Minute – Stammler and Angel convert a give-and-go to create space in the central part of the attacking zone, but Pena breaks up the attack before having his arm inadvertently stomped on by Ibrahim. Ouch.

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48th Minute – Hall on the overlapping run loses the ball off the end line. He looks way more comfortable in an attacking role than he does at right back.

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47th Minute – SAVE COUNDOUL! Failure in communication between the keeper and Roy Miller leaves Simms with an opportunistic chance that Coundoul gets a hand on.

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46th Minute – D.C. kicks off the second half, but it's New York that has come out on the attack, spending some time in the final third. Nothing dangerous though.

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HALFTIME – Doesn't look like there'll be any halftime changes for either side. The Red Bulls could probably use a change in attacking mentality if they don't change personnel.

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HALFTIME – Organized, dangerous, crisp. Does that sound like the 2010 D.C. United to you? It's how the home team has looked so far. New York, meanwhile, hasn't conceded and has been fine on defense, but the attacking chances just aren't there. Perhaps the potential introduction of Brian Nielsen in the second half will recharge the attack.

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45th Minute – 0-0 as the halftime whistle blows.

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45th Minute – One minute of stoppage time.

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44th Minute – Red Bull attack stalls on a harmless header that ends up in Perkins' arms. Lindpere and Richards did the heavy lifting on getting the ball forward.

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43rd Minute – Slick move by Castillo to dummy the pass to let Wallace cross, but Ream heads it away. This is not the 0-4 D.C. United we have become accustomed to seeing.

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41st Minute – D.C. has put pressure on New York's back line, but the defense hasn't flinched. Where is the Red Bull attack?

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39th Minute – Quaranta sees yellow after being called out for diving inside the area. His foot was stepped on no question. Harsh yellow after a promising build-up.

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36th Minute – SAVE COUNDOUL! Cristman puts a bouncing header on frame after a long pass, but Coundoul catches it cleanly.

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35th Minute – Talley takes it, but drives it into the wall.

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34th Minute – Petke gets caught hooking Cristman to the ground and he sees yellow for it. Dangerous free kick attempt coming for United.

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32nd Minute – SAVE PERKINS! Angel with a shot from the left side of the area, not too troubling for D.C.'s keeper.

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31st Minute – Stammler WHIFFS on a great opportunity for NY. Simms' backwards header toward Perkins landed in no-man's land, but Stammler couldn't get a clean piece of the ball.

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30th Minute – Perkins handles a cross/shot by Lindpere. Either way, not a threatening ball.

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29th Minute – D.C. is trying to take advantage of the weaker side of New York's defense, not challenging Ream and Miller at all. So far, United has been able to come up with some great chances, but nothing past Coundoul. 0-0 still.

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28th Minute – Castillo takes advantage of a Hall gaffe, but his cross in the area for Cristman is just behind him.

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27th Minute – Angel's cross inside the D.C. area is intercepted by Wallace. Good build-up, with Ibrahim finally getting involved.

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26th Minute – Free kick for United on the left side, 18 yards out. Quaranta to take it.

Easily cleared by New York.

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24th Minute – Rather simple diving save for Coundoul off a Simms shot. The midfielder chested the ball down and volleyed it on frame. Simms' impact on United is pretty underrated. He's looked sharp so far.

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23rd Minute – A nice piece of possession for New York, but Angel loses it past the endline as he tries to turn at the top of the box.

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21st Minute – The keeper appears to be fine as he walks off an apparent leg knock going post-to-post.

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19th Minute – Quaranta goes high with a shot after Wallace and Cristman do well to give the attack time to build up.

Coundoul is down and being tended to by the medics as the other players take the chance to drench themselves with water. It's a HOT day.

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17th Minute – D.C. gets the edge so far in terms of the run of play. The home team appears to be playing with a newfound confidence.

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16th Minute – SAVE COUNDOUL!! He denies Clyde Simms from point blank range! Great ball in by Morsink to set up Simms. Corner, D.C.

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16th Minute – Angel embraces Rodney Wallace after the two clash Landon Donovan/Ashley Cole style. No broken ankles here, though.

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14th Minute – Nearly Bad Bouna time. The Red Bulls' keeper can't cleanly handle a bouncer at the top of the area, but New York clears.

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12th Minute – New York earns the first corner of the match, as Robinson's free kick is headed behind the end line by D.C.

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12th Minute – Morsink takes down Lindpere and receives a warning for doing so. The Estonian difference-maker appears to be fine, though.

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10th Minute – Najar tries to take Ream 1v1, but Petke covers and wins the ball back for New York. Ream and Najar are bright young talents in this league, if you haven't picked up on that yet.

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9th Minute – ANGEL JUST MISSES! A long inswinging free kick from Lindpere finds Angel in the box, but his header goes wide right of the post.

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8th Minute – Another D.C. effort goes wide left of the post, as Cristman wins a 50-50 ball, turns, and shoots. A very active first few moments for the under-the-radar offseason acquisition.

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7th Minute – Castillo pushes a shot wide, but nice effort. Cristman did well to hold up the ball and find the Salvadorian left winger. Jeremy Hall was giving him plenty of space to operate.

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6th Minute – Dicey moments in the back for Pena as he can't clear his zone, but D.C. earns the throw in.

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4th Minute – Cristman has to hold up his run and Coundoul handles Talley's long pass. Both teams going with the long-ball philosophy early on trying to catch a break.

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3rd Minute – CRISTMAN PUTS ONE WIDE! Great early chance for D.C. as Cristman receives a ball at the right edge of the box and pushes a shot wide left.

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1st Minute – An early offside call on Ibrahim, who tries a bicycle kick and misses wide anyway.

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1st Minute – And we're underway. D.C. United moving right to left in the all blacks, New York Red Bulls moving left to right with the opening kick in the white tops with the red shorts. Poor D.C. – It's not the day to be covered head to toe in black clothing with the summer sun beating down on the pitch.

Today's referee is Edvin Jurisevic.

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PREGAME – Following along yet? What are your predictions for today's outcome?

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PREGAME – It's a late-arriving crowd, as plenty of seats are untouched as the players make their way through the tunnel. Captains today are Carey Talley and Juan Pablo Angel.

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PREGAME – Prediction time: This won't be as one-sided as the records might dictate. Red Bulls snatch some road points with a 2-1, grind-it-out victory.

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PREGAME – Of note on D.C.'s bench is the appearance of Stephen King, who was acquired by United from Seattle for a second-round draft pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. The additions of King and Emilio coincided with United cutting ties with Lyle Adams and Tiyi Shipalane.

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PREGAME – Brian Nielsen returns to the bench for New York after starting in his debut last week. Dane Richards will bring the pace among the Red Bull midfielders. That's the only minor surprise in Hans Backe's lineup.

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PREGAME – Should have a nice crowd on hand, considering the conditions, the rivalry and the added bonus of the WPS game between the Washington Freedom and St. Louis Athletica immediately following this one.

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PREGAME – Curt Onalfo has rewarded Adam Cristman for his two-goal, assist performance against Dallas with a start today. Firepower on the bench includes Jaime Moreno, Danny Allsopp and the re-acquired Luciano Emilio. Juan Manuel Pena makes his return to the lineup, which will boost United's centerback situation.

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PREGAME – It's a 90-degree day in Washington, D.C., just days after the United-FC Dallas U.S. Open Cup match was played in frigid conditions. Somewhere, Al Gore is nodding.

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PREGAME – Here are today's starting lineups:

NEW YORK RED BULLS

———–Ibrahim——Angel———-

–Stammler—-Lindpere—-Richards–

—————–Robinson—————-

–Miller—–Ream—–Petke—–Hall–

—————–Coundoul—————-

SUBS: Nielsen, Ubiparipovic, Tchani, Chinn, Borman, Boyens, Sutton

D.C. UNITED

——————Cristman—————-

——————–Najar——————

—Castillo–Morsink—-Simms–Quaranta–

–Wallace—–Pena—Talley—–Graye—

——————-Perkins——————

SUBS: Allsopp, Moreno, Emilio, Khumalo, King, McTavish, Hamid

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