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Red Bulls vs. Earthquakes: Match Night Commentary

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The New York Red Bulls are back at Red Bull Arena tonight to take on the San Jose Earthquakes in a key inter-conference clash.

The Red Bulls are coming off an impressive 4-1 thrashing of Toronto FC, but they will have a tough test in San Jose, which is coming off its own impressive win against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

I will be providing commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):

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FINAL– That's all for me. Thanks for following along tonight. Please feel free to share your post-match thoughts in the comments section below.

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FINAL– Red Bulls 2, Earthquakes 0. A thoroughly impressive performance by New York, which has won three of its past four. The Earthquakes fall and will continue to feel the heat in the tight playoff race. 

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90th Minute– Richards misses a sitter right in front of goal. There he is.

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90th Minute– With the Columbus Crew's tie against FC Dallas, and New York's win tonight, the Red Bulls are just four points behind the Crew for first place in the East, with eight matches remaining.

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89th Minute– The Red Bulls' possession game in the second half has been impressive. San Jose just has no answers in midfield.

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87th Minute– Henry is walking off after a bit of a calf injury. Salou Ibrahim will replace him as he walks off to a loud chorus of cheers. His best game to date, no question.

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84th Minute– Setth Stammler comes in for Tchani, who enjoyed a very good game tonight.

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82nd Minute– Folks clamoring for Bobby Convey to get a look at left back for the USA may be thinking otherwise after watching tonight's match. Richards has owned him tonight.

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82nd Minute– The first MLS coach to bring Cornell Glen to MLS was Bob Bradley back in 2004.

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79th Minute– Ream with a key intervention, gets a toe on a cross bound for a Earthquakes striker.

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77th Minute– Geovbanni's free kick is headed clear for a corner.

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75th Minute– San Jose gets a free kick just outside the area. Dangerous spot. Geovanni time. Lindpere with the foupl on the play.

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73rd Minute– Pop Quiz time. What MLS coach first brought Cornell Glen to MLS?

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72nd Minute– Mac Kandji comes in for Juan Pablo Angel. Solid night's work from Angel, though he could have and should have had one goal.

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71st Minute– Tonight's attendance: 21,859. That's tickets sold. Good crowd tonight, looks like about 17-18K.

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67th Minute– For those counting, this is Henry's 6th MLS match, took him six matches to score in MLS play. He's had tons of chances, now you wonder if this opens the floodgates.

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66th Minute– Great cross from Richards served right to Henry, who takes a touch and blasts it right-footed past Busch. Classy touch by Henry, who doesn't really celebrate, but goes over and gives Richards all the props. Great night for the Jamaican.

San Jose isn't ready to give up just yet.

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64th Minute- GOAL HENRY!!!! It finally comes, courtesy of a Richards cross. Red Bulls 2, Quakes 0.

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63rd Minute– Jaseh comes in for Wondolowski, who is NOT happy about coming out.

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60th Minute– Alvarez takes a shot from 20, but it goes a foot high.

Omar Jasseh is coming into this match. His speed will be a problem for the Red Bulls.

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58th Minute– Marquez blasts the free kick and it doesn't find Henry. Red Bulls get a throw-in.

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57th Minute– Convey takes down Richards and gives New York a dangerous free kick just outside the area. Legit call. Convey delivered a clean tackle but then he used his trailing leg to kick Richards. Pretty clear call, and needless by Convey when he had already won the challenge.

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55th Minute– Geovanni came in for Gjertsen, who was largely invislble tonight.

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54th Minute– Geovanni is coming into the match. San Jose needs his creativity badly.

Marquez just rifled a hard blast just wide of the net. New York is going to regret these missed chances.

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53rd Minute– SAVE BUSCH, Stops another audacious shot from Henry, who klicks it up to himself and chip volleys it over Busch's head, but Busch gets a hand to it. Great stuff.

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51st Minute– One thing Richards' aggressiveness tonight has done is neutralize Convey, who hasn't gotten forward all night because he's had to worry about the Jamaican winger.

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50th Minute– ANGEL OFF THE POST!! That's two posts for New York tonight. Henry had a great look but can't beat Busch. Angel misses a clear look.

The skill on Henry's shot, a side-volley back-heel that forced a great save from Busch, was incredible, but Angel blew the easy follow-up.

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48th Minute– Can San Jose starting creating some chances that aren't on the counter? Haven't seen any yet.

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46th Minute– We're back. No subs. Red Bulls up 1-0.

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HALFTIME– Red Bulls 1, Earthquakes 0. New York played very well for the first 25 minutes, hit a lull and let San Jose take control for about 15 minutes, then found a surprising goal courtesy of a daring Richards run and finish.

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45th Minute– GOAL RICHARDS!!! He just raced through San Jose's defense and finished just before halftime. WOW. Red Bulls 1, Earthquakes 0.

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41st Minute– Marquez serves in a great ball but Angel can't get his head to it. San Jose dodged a bullet there.

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40th Minute– San Jose's defense has held up well. It's the midfield that struggled early in the match but has been more composed in these past 15-20 minutes.

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38th Minute– Richards carded for a dive in the area on a breakaway. NOt sure about that call. He wasn't touched, but I think he fell trying to get away from the keeper, so he winds up being punished for not wanting to dive.

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36th Minute– Marquez has been quiet tonight. That, coupled with Lindpere not having a great night, is keeping New York's strikers from having many looks so far. The best soccer for the Red Bulls comes with Tchani in an advanced position with the ball at his feet. Marquez needs to get more involved.

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35th Minute– San Jose comes close again, but Alvarez's cross can't find a taker. Earthquakes in good position to grab a goal and take control of this game. New York looks a bit out of sorts.

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33rd Minute– Now the Red Bulls appear to have lost some focus.

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32nd Minute– Angel whistled for his first offside of the night. Might be a record.

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30th Minute– Roy Miller is hurt. Danleigh Borman would be the replacement if Miller can't continue.

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28th Minute– Red Bulls must be careful. It wouldn't be the first time they play good soccer and squander chances against a team that burns them and wins the game.

Burling is doing a good job shadowing Henry so far.

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26th Minute– San Jose comes so close, but Glen sends his shot wide of the right post after getting in behind the defense. Great chance wasted by the Earthquakes.

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25th Minute– If you're following the commentary tonight please let me know in the comments section. Also let me know where you're following from.

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21st Minute– Henry OFF THE POST!! Another quality sequence, with Angel laying one to a wide-open Henry, but his right-footed shot hits the right post.

New York looks very good tonight, but no goals yet. Seems like a matter of time though.

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19th Minute– Beautiful sequence from NY, with Henry springing Tchani, who lays off a nice ball to Angel. You see a better understanding in midfield and this unit is really learning how to play together.

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16th Minute– San Jose breaks out on a promising counter but it ends with a weak Glen dive attempt in the area.

San Jose can definitely find chances on the counter. They're extremely fast getting the ball to wingers Gjertsen and Alvarez, and Wondolowski doesn't need much room to finish a goal.

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14th Minute– Tony Tchani is playing with some serious confidence tonight. 

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12th Minute– Rafa Marquez just put on a pair of sweet moves, but his cross can't produce a goal, some good looks though. He looks sharp tonight.

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9th minute-  San Jose is absorbing a good amount of the early pressure.

Richards with a good look on the wing, but sends a weak ball in. Wasted chance there.

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7th Minute– Marquez serves the free kick, but Busch catches it.

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5th Minute– San Jose tests Coundoul, who punches a save right into his own area. Not the smartest move there. Will he be shaky today? You never know.

An early yellow card to Bobby Burling for a foul on Lindpere and a good free kick opportunity for NY on the left wing.

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4th Minute– San Jose won the first metting between these teams earlier this year, 4-0, but that game was an even one blown open with the help of an early New York red card.

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2nd Minute– Convey vs. Dane Richards will be a good match-up to watch, as will watching San Jose's centerbacks deal with Henry and Angel.

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1st Minute– We're underway.

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PRE-GAME– Kandji is on the bench for New York while newly-signed Designated Player Geovanni is on the San Jose bench.

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PRE-GAME– Here are the lineups:

RED BULLS:

————Henry————–Angel————–

—-Lindpere————————–Richards—

—————-Marquez—Tchani—————-

Miller——Ream————-Mendes—Albright

——————–Coundoul———————–

BENCH– Sutton, Petke, Stammler, Borman, Ubiparipovic, Ibrahim, Kandji

EARTHQUAKES:

———–Wondolowski—–Glen——————–

Gjertsen————————————–Alvarez

————–Stephenson—-Cronin—————-

Convey——Burling——McDonald——-Ward

———————Busch—————————

BENCH– Horwath, Beitashour, Jasseh, Ring, Geovanni, Johnson, Sealy

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PRE-GAME– Good evening folks. I'm coming to you from Red Bull Arena, where another late-arriving crowd is slowly crawling into this beautiful stadium. I'm hearing pre-sale was 22K, but it will have to be a big late rush to get close to that number tonight.

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Comments

  1. yeah, what are you talking about? while maybe he doesn’t score every goal, he has been providing service to the top and a very integral part to the team. Plus he only makes just over a million

    Reply
  2. From my vantage point in Section 121, it looked like a lot more than 17 or 18 K. I think the 21,000+ number was about right. The only empty areas I noted were in the ends and corners of the second tier, on the west side of the arena (over the suites). And what a performance they saw. With eight more regular-season games to get the kinks out, this team will be something to fear come playoff time.

    Reply
  3. Glen is such garbage. His bad passing and ball hogging are fine when he’s scoring, but when he’s on a scoreless streak he’s a hindrance to the team. I can’t believe he didn’t get yanked tonight.

    Reply
  4. Following in Edmonton, Canada.

    My two favorite players scored tonight–Montero (2) and Henry (1). Plus, both the Sounders and the Bulls won. Pure bliss. MLS is so much more exciting than it used to be. (Wish it carried over to CONCACAF, tho).

    Reply
  5. Got home from the game a while a go, and I echo Happy Camper. Great performance from the team. I really hope they can continue to improve, cause if they do, they will definitely make themselves a title contender.

    I remember when Bradley brought in Cornell Glen and Fabian Taylor. They were suppose to be our strike force, and that didn’t work as planned. Some decent moments, just not enough of them.

    Reply

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