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Union vs. Red Bulls: Match Night Commentary

Philadelphia Union Logo  New York Red Bulls Logo

The New York Red Bulls have made the trip down I-95 today to take on the Philadelphia Union in the first meeting between the rivals in 2011.

The Union enter the match in first place in the East, but the Red Bulls are the favorites to win the division and will feature newly-acquired playmaker Dwayne DeRosario in the starting lineup for the first time.

Philadelphia comes in off its first loss of the season, a 1-0 setback against Los Angeles, but the Union will look to keep its record perfect at home at PPL Park.

SBI will be providing live commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here, and 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):

 

Comments

  1. Having watched the game, it was shocking how different the Union played from the first to the second half; Novak must have given them the hairdryer treatment. Nonetheless, RB should have done so much better. Agudelo’s woodwork brace was one thing, but he should not have been subbed, and at least he registered shots on goal (none from TH). TH has to turn in better performances or he should sit. He apparently has the need to control the ball for too long before he tries to shoot, allowing the inevitable 2-3 defenders to collapse on him. RB better score big next week. COYB

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  2. Thierry Henry is a bigger bust then Beckham by far. He does absolutely nothing with the ball, and he gets to see far more of it than Becks did early in his Galaxy career. Agudelo is 18 and he is way more of a threat than one of the game’s greatest players, who just shuffles around in the final third and pretends to be a threat but ultimately does nothing with the ball. Get Henry off the effing pitch Hans, because he has given up being an attacking player in professional football. He just likes collecting his check and saying he plays for New York’s professional team. What a disgrace.

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  3. What? How can this be? According to Xbox player ratings and Ives this is the best team in MLS since dc in the etcheverry years

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  4. Philly certainly has some interesting players, and they may very well be for real, but, on the basis of this game, I don’t see how you could come away being impressed with them. RBNY lost this game; Philly didn’t win it or do much of anything convincing, outside of starting the second half a bit more energetically.

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  5. Perfect analysis. As a RB fan, Bouna is terrifying in the net. Rather have anyone in there. The team are so good in the midfield – the possession is great. But it just ends there. They are at a loss when it gets to the final attack. It’s frustrating to watch. I’ve been giving Henry the benefit of the doubt because he is (was) such a great payer, but I’m losing my patience. He seems lazy. No drive whatsoever. And very slow. I really hope things start to turn around.

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  6. I’m not saying that Philly is going to win the cup but they are for real. The only part of their game that I do not like is when they control the ball and they do not attack. They have a spot in every game they play where they just hold the ball in the midfield and it looks like they are not even giving a thought of moving forward.

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  7. Possession is great, RBNY, but it’s not the point. The team had absolutely no ideas inside the thirty yard line. Henry is offering no offensive ideas — he’s just a target man now, who lays the ball off the midfielders.

    Harkes is also completely without ideas. The play-by-play guy was begging for insight, and all Harkes could offer was blather about “figuring something out.”

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  8. I still believe that the Red Bulls will be a top team over the course of the season, but they have 2 serious problems right now. First: Bouna is a huge liability and it seems he is even more so than last year (if that’s possible). Second: This team just doesn’t want it in the final 3rd. Their possession game is great, defense is solid (rookie mistake by Ream – he’ll clean that up with age), but Henry is just KILLING this team. He stands around for most of the game, and unless the ball is played EXACTLY to him he gives zero effort. When the ball does land exactly to him he is to slow to make a decision with it and/or makes the wrong one. From a player of his caliber I want aggression, and precision. Not acceptable for him to be giving zero effort. If he’s injured the fans need to know about it because it’s becoming a major concern.

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  9. RBNY had no creativity – they kept trying the same thing over and over again – either down the middle to a forward with back to goal (who would be surrounded by 3 union players) or a wide cross that was snuffed out by one of 3 union defenders in the box. It felt like they could have kept playing forever and would never score. By the middle of the second half you almost were expecting Philly to score on a counter, and thanks to Ream’s brain freeze, there it was.

    Was Bob Bradley coaching for the Union? The Union’s strategy seemed straight out of his playbook: play D and score on a counter/mistake.

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  10. Joesph sent off for New England…pushed Beckerman in the face…automatic red….Beckerman other regualr on…New England imploding….

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  11. What a bad result for Rbny. Philly did nothing in that game and was gifted 3 points. But the result is all that matters.

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  12. All the skill of NY’s midfield will be useless as long as Henry is up top. He NEVER gets himself open and in position to make himself dangerous.

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  13. RSL is the BEST team in MLS…not the the Red Bull….they are beating New England with a reserve side 2-0…only regulars playing tonight are Russell and Johnson…Go RSL…:)

    Money can’t buy a title as NY is finding out…

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  14. I am going to stop following these commentaries if the Cover it Live ads keep popping up and blaring every 5 minutes. I know it’s not your doing Ives, but it’s out of control

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  15. Cool to see the NYRB supporters in a corner section with security separating them from the Philly fans. When do you ever see that at an MLS game?

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  16. That might be the first time I’ve ever seen a goalkeeper knock the ball down toward their own goal.

    Condoul is not professional quality. Just blows my mind that he plays.

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  17. Great half of football by Rbny. But does make you wonder if these guys will be the Arsenal of MLS. And by that, they look great and win some games, but always susceptible to the counter to lose points.

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  18. NY’s midfield is… horrid.

    Do they even know that they’re supposed to provide service to the forwards? Henry and Agudelo are dropping back to almost midfield to pick up the ball.

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  19. Is it really that difficult for ESPN to replace Harkes? The guy has like zero fans for his commentary. Even Lalas is a better alternative (sad, i know)

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