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10-man Red Bulls pick up comeback victory over Revolution

Dax McCarty

By RYAN TOLMICH

HARRISON, N.J.– Despite being down both a man and a goal heading into the halftime break, the New York Red Bulls were going to make major improvements heading out of the halftime break.

“I can’t remember word for word,” said midfielder Lloyd Sam on the halftime atmosphere, “but they were pretty strong words from the manager, which we needed. In the second half with 10 men, I remember thinking that they think the game is won and that we’re going to surprise them.”

The Red Bulls were able put together quite the surprise with Dax McCarty and Bradley Wright-Phillips scoring a goal each to pick up a 2-1 victory over the visiting Revs.

The game started off with a bit of controversy, as it took less than two minutes for Revs forward Charlie Davies to earn a booking for simulation. Davies was dragged down in the corner of the Red Bull box as the Revs bench shouted for a penalty. The referee saw differently, issuing Davies a yellow.

Davies rebounded just 18 minutes later by opened opening the scoring via a wide open header. Fellow forward Teal Bunbury’s cross from the right side was deflected towards the backpost, where a predatory Davies was open and waiting to head home for an easy finish. Davies’ finish was his first goal for any team since September 10, 2011.

The Red Bulls’ quest back into the game took a major hit in first half stoppage time, when Miazga was sent off after a collision with New England’s Lee Nguyen. Nguyen was down on the field for a few moments, but the Revs midfielder remained in the game. Meanwhile, the referee issued Miazga a red, ending the 19-year-old defender’s night.

“It was just an immature decision on my part,” Miazga said after the game. “I should have stayed back. There was no reason for me to put that tackle in… I’ve got to learn from my mistakes.”

Down a man and a goal heading into halftime, New York Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke adjusted formations, switching to a diamond in an effort to force the Revs to play through the middle.

The switch paid dividends nearly immediately, as the hosts equalized just two minutes into the second half via a spectacular chip from McCarty.

After receiving a pass from Eric Alexander, McCarty took a chance at chipping the out-of-position Bobby Shuttleworth from long distance. The ensuing shot drifted just up and over the Revs goalkeeper, as McCarty’s fantastic finish tied things at one.

“You could tell that we started the second half very brightly,” said McCarty, “and you could tell it took the wind out of their sales a little bit. It was certainly a defining moment in the game and in the second half.”

“It’s a killer,” said Davies. “I think everyone knows when you’re up at halftime, the first 10 minutes are the most important for the rest of the match… It was unfortunate because it was an amazing goal. That’s up for goal of the season. That was class.”

Wright-Phillips pushed the Red Bulls into the lead with a 64th minute finish that sent the energized Red Bull Arena crowd into a frenzy. The 29-year-old found himself on the receiving end of a chipped pass from fellow Englishman Sam towards the corner of the Revolution box, where Wright-Phillips corralled the ball before taking on Revs defender A.J. Soares.

Wright-Phillips proceeded to cut to his left past a helpless Soares before finishing with a left-footed curler into the far post for his league-leading 18th goal of the season.

“I just knew that (Soares) was quite tight to me, so I thought, if it cut back, he’s either going to get lucky and it’s going to come off his leg and if not, I’ll get by him and I did. There’s been times when I’ve tried that and it didn’t come off, but tonight I got lucky and it was a decent finish.”

The goalscoring combination was enough to impress one of the game’s most prolific scorers, Thierry Henry, who praised the duo after the game.

“Lloyd played that ball ever so well today,” Henry said after the game. “Bradley, the way he took that in, because it’s not like the ball was a tap in. He had to cut back inside and finish with his left. That’s a world-class finish. I can tell you that… It was a great pass and an amazing finish.”

Red Bulls substitute Peguy Luyindula nearly made it three unanswered with just minutes left in the game, but the Frenchman’s shot from an Henry pass caromed off the post and out. However, McCarty and Wright-Phillips’ finishes proved to be all that was necessary, as the Red Bulls held on for the come-from-behind victory.

After the game, Petke issued his team high praise, especially for their performance in the game’s second stanza.

“The second half tonight was perhaps, and this is saying a lot because of our success last year, the best half in my time as a head coach and we were a man down,” Petke said. “It followed, I cannot remember a worse performance in a first half that I have ever seen, aside from my six year old’s team, to be very blunt. I’m being blunt because I’m proud of them and in awe almost, in a small way, of being a man down and bossing them in the second half like that.”

“I will say this: if we show up and play like we did in the second half the rest of the year, I like our odds to go very far.”

With the victory, the Red Bulls extend their unbeaten streak to three games and jump past the Revs into playoff position. The Red Bulls will now look towards a trip to an August 10 Toyota Park where they will take on the Chicago Fire.

Meanwhile, the Revs, who picked up their first win in eight league games last time out, will have to wait two weeks for their next game, where they will host the Portland Timbers.

Comments

  1. if red bull get ronaldinho, red bull will mls cup 🙂
    r onaldinho would be too much pressure for the opposing teams and with henry, you would get the beckham, donovan, keane effect.

    Reply
  2. Team is finally coming together with Dax rounding back into form. He is huge for this squad. Their lack of depth at D-mid is scary and he also pulls a lot of strings from back there. Miazga has absolutely killed them, though. They desperately need another CB. It’s a shame. They’ve got some tremendous talent on this team but they’ve done a lousy job of bringing in reinforcements and depth this offseason and transfer season.

    Reply
      • I think he means someone better than a career Ligue 2 player. I agree though I’m tolerant of Miazga’s growing pains. Kid just turned 19, that’s the stuff you’re going to have to live with at this point.

      • We’ll see how Perinelle does. The problem is a lack of cap space due to unusable assets like Eckersley and perhaps Kimura.

  3. they could fizzle when NYCFC takes up all the oxygen next year. This doesnt sound like a good, but it might be a good idea to change their name back to Metrostars. Maybe Metrostars by Red Bull would work. This would remind New Yorkers of the team’s history as one of the original MLSers with a 20 year history. The Red Bull name is a worse idea then Chivas USA

    Reply
      • The New Jersey Devils won a crapload and they were absolutely invisible in the NY market.

        The Nets went to the finals (and lost) two years in a row – straight owning a weak eastern conference.

        RBNY wins almost nothing and has a funny name.

        They are going to have to spend money on traditional forms of advertising if they want to be anything other than a cost-effective billboard for Red Bull GmbH. Winning alone won’t do the trick

    • Why is everyone assuming that NYCFC will be a raging success? Lol. If anything, casual fans will be driven to Red Bull Arena once they take in the crappy sight lines at Yankee Stadium. If anything, they will be Chivas USA if they don’t win early and often.

      No premier league snobs will be itching to go see Manchester City’s daughter team come play unless they’re Manchester City fans all ready. Judging from the attendance we saw the other night at the Liverpool – City match played at Yankee Stadium (95% LFC support), I wouldn’t be shocked to see NYCFC hurting for attendance after the first season, should that team tank it.

      Reply
    • I can’t imagine why people are so worked up by the name or crest or whatever. Who cares? If this team puts a quality team out there, people will come. Last year, the last several games were sellouts as they chased the Supporters Shield. Winning cures a lot of ills. Whether the squad as currently constituted can keep winning is another matter.

      Reply

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