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New England Revolution at Red Bulls: SBI Running Commentary

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Good evening folks. It is a clear day at Giants Stadium as we head toward tonight’s I-95 clash between the New England Revolution and the New York Red Bulls.

The Red Bulls are looking to rebound from last week’s 2-0 loss to FC Dallas while the New England Revolution will look to erase its own memories of a recent loss, its 1-0 defeat at home against Colorado.

The Revs have owned this series in recent years and head into tonight’s match as the heavy favorites.

I will be doing a running commentary as well as some pre-match and post-match analysis. If you plan on following the match, please feel free to follow the match here. Share your thoughts and opinions below.

Enjoy the action:

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FINAL– Red Bulls 1, Revolution 1. A pretty disappointing result for the Red Bulls, who outplayed New England in the first half, then had a man advantage in the second half with a lead and still couldn’t find a second goal. The foul call that gave the Revs their free kick goal looked extremely suspect and I will look to see it again before passing final judgment, but from the looks I saw, it appeared as if Cristman wasn’t even touched.

(ON THE REPLAY of the foul that led to the REvs goal it was Chris Leitch with the foul, clipping Cristman at the penalty arc. Terrible place to commit a foul. Legit call and legit equalizer for the Revs.

Either way, the Red Bulls had a man advantage and couldn’t use it to their advantage. For that, this tie is a disappointment.

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93rd minute– Wolyniec MISSES by inches wide right. What a late chance. That was probably it.

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91st minute– Borman draws a foul on Igwe, good spot for a free kick for the Red Bulls

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89th minute– Altidore with another shot on goal, but Reis stops it. Nobody else is coming up with any ideas.

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87th minute– Salazar blows a call, gives a goal kick instead of a corner. The Red Bulls are running out of time.

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84th minute– Wells Thompson in for Khano Smith. This late speed for the Revs could cause problems. Between Thompson and Dube, the Revs have some fresh speedsters out there.

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81st minute– The Red Bulls look out of ideas and this is looking like a tie, if they are lucky and avoid any late mistakes.

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79th minute– Wolyniec gets his head on another cross, but the shot goes right to Reis. He’s been solid since coming in.

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77th minute– Mike Magee is coming in for Claudio Reyna. Dube in for Mansally.

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72nd minute– Sassano for Leitch is a sub Osorio has to think about here. If not Sassano, then Echeverry.

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71st minute– Altidore with a SHOT, but it’s blocked by Reis.

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71st minute– The Revs are now in a 4-4-1, with Hilgenbrink at left back and Igwe at right back.

I wonder if and when we see Oscar Echeverry in this match.

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70th minute– 12,047 is the attendance tonight.

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68th minute– The Revs are ready to go defensive, bringing in Chase Hilgenbrink for Adam Cristman.

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64th minute– Wolyniec misses high after receiving a good cross from Borman.

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60th minute– I have to believe the Revs will be looking for the draw now.

Danleigh Borman will be coming in for Ubiparipovic. Look for Van Den Bergh to slide into central midfield, with Borman manning the left flank.

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59th minute– Mendes with a needless turnover and bad foul.

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56th minute– GOAL REVS. Jeff Larentowicz with a free kick that blasts past the wall. REvs 1, Red Bulls 1. And let me repeat, what an AWFUL call against the Red Bulls.

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55th minute– Ricardo Salazar with a phantom foul call that gives the Revs a dangerous free kick.

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50th minute– Goldthwaite did get a yellow card for the Castro altercation.

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49th minute– Goldthwaite knocks Castro down and stands over him, Castro kicks out and kicks Goldthwaite in the rear, sending him forward. Goldthwaite steps on Castro’s ankle in the process before Castrol goes straight for the Lou Rawls.

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48th minute– Mauricio Castro RED CARD. Castro kicks Kevin Goldthwaite in the jewels and gets sent off.

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HALFTIME– Angel re-aggravated his right hamstring injury.

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HALFTIME– So what do the Revs need to do differently? Building through central midfield would help, getting balls to Nyassi, who can take on Van Den Bergh with speed, and just moving in general would help. They were doing some of these things early on but not for the final 25-30 minutes of the first half.

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HALFTIME– Juan Pablo Angel is coming out of the match. John Wolyniec will replace him. Angel has been nursing a hamstring injury.

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HALFTIME- Red Bulls 1, Revs 0. The game started slowly for both sides but the Red Bulls started to take control after about 25 minutes before Altidore finished off a beautiful run with a 17-yard blast to give the Red Bulls the lead.

The Revs have struggled to get going in the final third and have been too content to settle for long balls and crosses in. Adam Cristman and Kenny Mansally are starving for service and need Castro to start creating.

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44th minute– Van Den Bergh with another poor touch. I think we’ll be seeing Danleigh Borman in the second half.

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41st minute– I have to say that the fact that Jon Conway hasn’t had a save to make yet is pretty impressive for the Red Bulls team defense.

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39th minute– The Red Bulls have officially taken control back in central midfield. The Revs can’t get anything going in there and I haven’t heard a peep from Castro in about 20 minutes.

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38th minute– Wow, Ubiparipovic with a beautiful run into the penalty area but hits his shot like me after 10 shots of Jaeger, right at Reis. Promising stuff though.

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37th minute– Van Den Bergh has been off with his crosses all night. He might want to keep dribbling.

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36th minute– In case I didn’t mention it before, the Revs fans are here and are in very good voice. They’re stuck in a mezzanine so I can’t see them all from the press box but I can definitely hear them.

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35th minute– Nice work by Goldthwaite to stop a Revs attack with a perfect tackle on Nyassi.

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33rd minute– Altidore and Joseph get into a minor scuffle. A bit surprising there but Altidore isn’t backing down from the veteran.

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31st minute– Altidore gets the ball near midfield, beats Larentowicz AND Igwe before blasting one from 17 yards out past Matt Reis.

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30th minute- GOAL RED BULLS. JOZY ALTIDORE WITH A BEAUTY!!!! WoW.

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29th minute– One area the Red Bulls think they can exploit is corners and free kicks. The Revs defense is pretty small and somewhat vulnerable on set plays.

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28th minute– Goldthwaite sends a flashing header high over the crossbar.

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27th minute– Red Bulls on the move again, another build-up that ends with Altidore having a shot blocked for a corner.

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25th minute– Red Bulls with another nice build-up.

And I’m calling it now. Nyassi is going to burn the Red Bulls, who are giving him too much space on the wing.

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24th minute– Altidore torches Igwe but Parkhurst is there to slow him down. First decent attacking move by the Red Bulls tonight.

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23rd minute– The Revs are starting to push things through the middle and the Red Bulls can’t handle the speed. The back three has done well to thwart some buildups but the Revs are starting to get some good build-ups.

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21st minute– Mendes gives up an unnecessary corner kick.

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19th minute– The Red Bulls are looking to work the flanks and almost look they’ve conceded the middle of the field to the Revs.

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18th minute– With Nyassi posing so much of a threat on the right flank, Van Den Bergh is sitting deep enough for the Red Bulls to look like they’re in a 4-4-2.

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16th minute– New england is knocking the ball around with ease right now and nearly found a goal with a long-range blast.

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12th minute– Still waiting to see the Red Bulls maintain some semblance of possession.

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10th minute– The Revs speedsters haven’t had a chance to show off their pass yet.

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9th minute– yellow card to Sinisa Ubiparipovic for a foul on Mauricio Castro.

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7th minute– The Revs have had more possession early on but have yet to get a productive possession in the final third.

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2nd minute–  And we’re off here at Giants stadium.

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PRE-GAME– A decent-sized crowd tonight. Still looking for the Revs contingent.

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PRE-GAME– Carlos Mendes makes his first start of the season and I think at least part of the reason for that is because the Red Bulls aren’t too concerned about New England attacking with anybody but Smith on their left flank. Mendes can deal with Smith when Leitch is trying to sneak forward, but look for Leitch and Smith to spend a lot of time together.

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PRE-GAME- The best news for the Red Bulls today is the fact that Juan Pablo Angel and Jozy Altidore will play together for the first time tonight. That tandem isn’t a good match-up for the Revs, which has trouble with them because Michael Parkhurst is going to wind up needing help from either the midfield or fullbacks. Look for Jeff Larentowicz or Shalrie Joseph to spend a lot of time sitting very deep, in what will almost resemble a 4-4-2 at times.

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PRE-GAME– The best match-ups to watch here include Shalrie Joseph-Claudio Reyna, Jeff Parke-Adam Cristman and Kevin Goldthwaite-Kenny Mansally. It will also be interesting to see how Dave Van Den Bergh deals with the speed of Nyassi on the wing.

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PRE-GAME– Here is how the team’s will match up:

——————–Conway———————–

Goldthwaite——–Parke————-Mendes

————-Cristman—–Mansally————–

————-Stammler—Ubiparipovic———

Nyassi————-Castro————– Smith

VDB—————Reyna————–Leitch

———-Larentowicz—–Joseph————–

————–Angel—–Altidore————–

Igwe—————Parkhurst————-Heaps

———————-Reis———————–

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PRE-GAME– Yes, this game is on MSG AND HDNet.

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PRE-GAME– And yes, you did read that right. Chris Leitch will be starting at right midfield. He and Khano Smith have had some good battles in the past, battles Leitch has fared well in. That match-up will be an interesting one to watch.

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PRE-GAME– Here is the Revs’ starting lineup and formation:

———–Cristman—–Mansally————–

Smith—————Castro————–Nyassi

———-Larentowicz—–Joseph————–

Igwe—————Parkhurst————-Heaps

———————-Reis———————–

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PRE-GAME- Here is the Red Bulls starting lineup and formation:

————–Angel—–Altidore————–

VDB—————Reyna————–Leitch

————-Stammler—Ubiparipovic———

Goldthwaite——–Parke————-Mendes

——————–Conway———————–

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Comments

  1. Was at the game and just finished watching the replay. Once again the Defense of the Bulls looks sluggish. Reyna looked terrible. Lots of fans booed him when he came off. I feel bad for him, but maybe it’s time for him to hang up the boots. The pace of the MLS is the fastest it’s ever been. No longer an old man’s retiree league.

    Ah well, can’t win ’em all though whoever was on the wall should have never jumped. That ball would have been blocked.

    Reply
  2. I hope we dont get any more of the Reyna little things, he is playing attacking midfielder he has to contribue offensively, period, he has not produced.

    He isnt doing what his position dictates, if our forward scores 2 goals in 30 games, i could care what ‘little things’ he does, he hasnt done what his position requires. Lets state the truth the midfield especially attacking midfield and out wide is in dire straits.

    Reply
  3. Since no one mentioned it, I thought I should: The sequence that led to the free kick that led to the Revs goal started with … take a guess … an errant back pass by Reyna. Way to go.

    Reply
  4. Considering I was completely humiliated by the Red Bulls giving up a goal while up a man, and found this result to be pathetic, meet-the-team was pretty fun.

    Having said that, where is the diving commission? Within seconds of the start of the game that stupid scumbag dirty ginger Larentowicz was writhing on the ground in pain, THEN HAD THE BALLS TO SPRINT BACK IN THE MIDFIELD BEFORE THE REF TOLD HIM TO LEAVE THE PITCH.

    It is this type of cheating I have come to expect from New England. I respect Revs fans–I really do–but I will never respect the amount of diving, cheating, and dirty play that comes from their players.

    Reply
  5. The time may be here to take a different approach with the players have. Drop Reyna back to pair with Stammler. Start Magee or Ubiparapovic at A-mid & Borman on the left. Release leitch.

    Seems to me that most of our action stemmed from either UBi or Borman anyway.

    Reply
  6. E-CHE-VE-RRY!!!! That ‘s my new chant for Angel’s sub. I think he with his speed he could’ve connected with those Borman crosses Woly was a step too slow to reach.

    Woly had one golden opportunity sliding to volley a shot into the net. Didn’t happen. Great try, unlucky, could’ve happened to anyone. Another couple of chances came his way, no success. More power behind those headers-could have made the difference. Oh well. Would’ve loved to have seen Woly play a bit more unselfishly and send in some through balls to Altidore. Especially at the end of the game. There was a great opportunity for a one touch thru-pass, but instead he took the shot himself that went wide of the right post. All in all he played an aggressive game and that is great to see.

    Even more I think Oscar E would’ve put more pressure on the NE defense from the right side coming off the bench for Leitch but I guess there were no other options for Angel’s replacement. (Renya not being able to continue played a part in this, I know ) But we definitely lacked a right side attacking presence. Can’t wait for Richards return.

    As for Altidore’s ‘whiny antics’…HA! That’s the tough Take No Mess attitude MLS needs. Thats hot blood ( not Chicago fire)

    That’s Burning Desire reaching Boiling Point Intensity. His energy was inspired from the will to win frustrated by Sharlie Joseph and a well balanced NE Rev side.

    This was an intense game to watch and I look forward to a full-strength RedBull team.

    I remain positive.

    Reply
  7. it is obvious that lietch is not a midfielder. Reyna while i belive has something to offer (at a much smaller salary) continually held on to it for way to long. The fact that a team was fielded with sinsi, leitch, mendez tells you everything you need to know; this team is short not one or two but several additions. JCO has talent as a coach but he I think he is out thinking himself.

    I am not sure if a lack of new personel falls on him or aggos but they screwed the pooch so far this year. I understand that JCO’s fustration with the Salary cap and allocation money process but that means that you have to have a talent for identifying undescovered talent around the world. There doesnt seem to be anyone at red bull able to do this.

    Reply
  8. Haig – No, I’m not a Revs fan and in fact generally admire Altidore’s attitude. I just thought TONIGHT he was being a whiny bitch acting with some sort of sense of entitlement (which is completely unlike him, I realize). I thought he deserved a yellow, but that’s just my opinion and neither here nor there.

    It seems that we agree on most other points. Oddly, I’ve always thought that Wolyniec is one of the most underrated/underappreciated players in the league.

    Borman and Richards? Well, let’s just say that I’m in the minority with respect to those guys.

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  9. Probably a little harsh on your comment, Jacob, but we have had very few players in our history who have shown the fight that Jozy shows on a regular basis. Other players have guys who are really committed to the club (look at how much DC misses Olsen), and New England has had tons of them, so it irritates me to see someone call for a caution when one of our players actually demonstrates some bottle.

    Reply
  10. There were a couple good things: Altidore was very good (Jacob, I don’t know if you’re a Revs fan, but calling for a yellow card was just stupid– the Revs have four or five guys who, every game, show some fire and get in opponent’s faces, and if there were yellows given out for that, the Revs would have a hard time fielding a full squad), and Borman’s play makes me very excited about having him and Richards on each wing. And Wolyniec, once again, put in a good, workmanlike performance.

    But Reyna continued to prove he’s not worth anywhere near the money (at $1.2 million a year, that’s $40,000 a game, and with three good passes a game, that’s about $13,333 per nice pass that leads to nothing).

    Reply

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