MLS opening days at Giants Stadium are traditionally known for two things, fans dreading what the new year will bring and rain putting a damper on the opening-game festivities.

Well, one out of two ain’t bad. The concerns about the Red Bull season are there, but the skies are clear here at Giants Stadium.

The big news of the day is that Jozy Altidore is NOT starting tonight. The bruised knee he suffered on Thursday proved to be too much for to overcome. He is on the bench but Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio chose to play it safe.

I will be doing a running commentary from the game. You can feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match:

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FINAL- The Red Bulls prevail in a game that wasn’t exactly pretty, but I think Red Bulls fans will take it.

Thanks for following along and be sure to catch my extended coverage of the match on Sunday.

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FINAL- Red Bulls 2, Crew 0 and Juan Carlos Osorio becomes the first coach in Red Bulls/MetroStars history to win his debut (Bora Milutinovic’s MetroStars won via shootout in his debut in the regular season finale in 1998.)

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90th minute- Three minutes of stoppage time.

We should talk about who plays for Parke against FC Dallas next week. It won’t be Eric Brunner, who is not yet ready for prime time. Carlos Mendes seems like the logical choice but he has spent most of the pre-season playing right back. I still think he winds up getting the call.

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84th minute- This might sound funny but Goldthwaite could have some trouble with Ezra Hendrickson in the penalty area. Yes, Hendrickson is playing as a target forward for the Crew. Wow.

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81st minute- Jeff Parke with a second yellow and that’s a red card. I knew that first yellow would come back to haunt him. A bit of a sour note and now the Red Bulls are in some trouble with no subs left. Looks like Van Den Bergh slides into left back while Goldthwaite goes to central defense. I would have figured Stammler for the central defense position.

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80th minute– Mike Magee is in for Claudio Reyna, who didn’t have a great game but put in some good work in midfield.

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78th minute- For all the grief given about the fullback tandem of Goldthwaite and Leitch, they both played well tonight.

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77th minute- Van Den Bergh has enjoyed a strong night tonight while Borman is turning it over at every turn. The nerves are definitely there.

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74th minute- Borman showing some rookie jitters while Stammler continues having a very steady game

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72nd minute- The night’s attendance: 17,119. A decent crowd, though a far cry from some previous home openers.

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71st minute- John Wolyniec comes on for Oscar Echeverry and all Jozy Altidore fantasy owners just started crying.

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66th minute- The Crew’s third sub is EZRA HENDRICKSON. Huh? You’re down two goals and you bring in Hendrickson for Miglioranzi? How bad is Jason Garay these days for Sigi Schmid not to put him in here?

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65th minute- Jeff Parke with a yellow card.

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62nd minute- Schelotto is coming out for Niko Hernandez. Interesting to say the least. Schelotto didn’t look right all day. Also, Brad Evans came in for Adam Moffet. Not sure if these are the subs that will turn things around for Columbus.

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61st minute- The Crew with a nice sequence but cannot find the finishing touch. Columbus is finding a bit of a rhythm but here come two Crew subs.

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55th minute- Still waiting for the Crew to come up with some answers on how to generate some chances.

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52nd minute- SAVE HESMER, a bad PK from Angel isn’t far enough to the corner, allowing Hesmer to stop it.

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50th minute- PENALTY. O’Rourke horse collars Oscar Echeverry, drawing the PK.

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48th minute- Borman with his MLS debut. Interesting to see the adjustment, the extra speed on the wing will make it that much tougher for the Crew to attack down the flanks.

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46th minute- Danleigh Borman comes in for Sinisa Ubiparipovic. Borman shifts to the left flank and Van Den Bergh will slide into central midfield.

Also, Ubiparipovic has been credited with an assist on the Van Den Bergh goal.

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HALFTIME- Red Bulls 2, Crew 0. The Red Bulls haven’t really dominated, but have had the better of the play and finished off two chances. The Crew offense is lost right now and Schelotto has not played well. With Schelotto, Gaven and Rogers rendered essentially ineffective, the Red Bulls defense has yet to be tested.

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40th minute- Ubiparipovic with a yellow card.

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36th minute- The Red Bulls defense has done a good job of avoiding the bad mistake. The midfield needs to cut down on the unforced turnovers though.

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35th minute- Very questionable free kick awarded to the Crew, outside left corner of the penalty area.

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31st minute- Interesting to see that Osorio’s reaction to Echeverry looking hurt is to tell John Wolyniec to warm up. Looks like Jozy Altidore will be sitting this one out.

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28th minute- Juan Pablo Angel looks pretty sharp tonight. Claudio Reyna, not as much.

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26th minute- Jon Conway with a good save, his first of the night.

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25th minute- Robbie Rogers is on the right flank for the Crew and is trying to find some space behind Van Den Bergh. This could be a problem for the Red Bulls and it will be interesting to see how the team adjusts.

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21st minute- Hesmer with two BIG saves, stopping an Angel shot and an Echeverry follow. The Red Bulls are all over the Crew.

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19th minute- The Red Bulls are moving the ball around well and keeping pressure on the Crew defense. Not bad without Jozy Altidore and Dane Richards.

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12th minute- The Red Bulls are doing a good job of squeezing Schelotto and keeping the marking tight on Columbus’ wingers. The Crew hasn’t been able to mount an attack yet.

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10th minute- Red Bulls fans are stunned and Crew fans are heaving right now. Both goals came against the run of play but the Red Bulls won’t be complaining.

Assists to Juan Pablo Angel and Dave Van Den Bergh on Goldthwaite’s goal.

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8th minute- GOAL RED BULLS- Goldthwaite scores, tapping home after Angel saved a cross and tapped it in front of goal. Red Bulls 2, Crew 0.

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4th minute- Red Bulls corner kick caught by Hesmer.

Van Den Bergh’s goal is the fastest goal in club history, breaking the previous record of 55 seconds held by Jozy Altidore, who scored his last year against Chicago. Van Den Bergh’s goal came in the 46th second.

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2nd minute- WOW. 47 seconds in and the Red Bulls have scored. Van Den Bergh from 22 yards out after Schelotto was dispossessed by Sinisa Ubiparipovic.

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1st minute- GOAL RED BULLS- DAVE VAN DEN BERGH with a left-footed blasted. WOW

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PRE-GAME- The Luke Sassano-Robbie Rogers match-up will be an interesting one to watch. Rogers is a dangerous and fast winger who is going to give the rookie trouble?

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PRE-GAME- The anthem has been sung and we’re ready for the action.

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PRE-GAME- Dave Van Bergh gets the nod on the left as Juan Carlos Osorio decided that having two rookie wingers start in the opener was too much. It will be interesting to see Gaven and Van Den Bergh go at it on the flank, assuming the formation I have is the one Columbus uses.

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PRE-GAME– We are a half hour from kickoff and the crowd is looking a little sparse. Interesting seating at the stadium, with the sections around 101 covered by tarps, meaning Section 101 should be full.

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PRE-GAME- Here is the Red Bulls lineup:

—————Angel———Echeverry————

VDB—————–Reyna———-Sassano——

————Stammler—-Ubiparipovic————

Goldthwaite———Parke—————–Leitch

———————-Conway———————-

Here is the Columbus Crew’s lineup:

————————-Moreno————————–

Rogers—————–Schelotto—————-Gaven

—————–Moffat———-Carroll—————–

Miglioranzi——Marshall—O’Rourke———–Hejduk

—————————Hesmer————————–