Top Stories

Kansas City Wizards at New York Red Bulls: Running Commentary

Red_bulls_logoKansas_city_logo

The New York Red Bulls play host to the Kansas City Wizards tonight and it should be a good one.

I will be doing a running commentary tonight and you are welcome to follow the match here. If you will be watching the match and following online, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Follow the action below and enjoy the match:

———————————-

POST-GAME- That’s all for tonight. In a new feature on the running commentary, I want you to send your questions my way and I will answer 10 questions about tonight’s match. Keep it to one question and try to keep it relatively short. Thanks and good night.

———————————-

POST-GAME- Danleigh Borman plays the hero tonight as he scores the biggest goal of his young career. Two goals in two straight games. Not bad for a supplemental draft pick.

Van Den Bergh’s red card wasn’t the only negative tonight. Mike Magee wasn’t really effective and Luke Sassano struggled in the first half, when the Wizards were still trying to attack. Things got better when KC went into defend mode in the second half, but Sassano will have his growing pains and the Red Bulls will be hoping to have either Claudio Reyna or Seth Stammler (or both) back for the Fire game.

———————————-

FINAL- Red Bulls 1, Wizards 1. What a hard-fought game. The Red Bulls created a ton of chances, particularly in the second half, and were unlucky not to equalize much sooner. Kansas City defended well in the first half and did well to hold on up until Borman’s equalizer.

Van Den Bergh’s red card provides the truly sour note to this one because he was playing a strong game throughout and now the Red Bulls won’t have him for the showdown vs. Chicago next week.

The Red Bulls will feel they should have own this game and they’re probably right, but the squad did show some heart to fight back for the equalizer.

———————————-

90th minute- Three minutes of added time

———————————-

85th minute- Not sure what got Osorio ejected but I have a feeling he finally got around to speaking his peace about Van Den Bergh’s red card.

And for those of you wondering, the ejection does NOT mean an automatic suspension for next week.

———————————-

83rd minute- Angel finds Borman on thje left side of the penalty area and Borman just unleashes a blast. He also did his cartwheel goal celebration. It wasn’t quite as ugly as the one last week. Assists from Altidore and Angel.

Juan Carlos Osorio just got ejected from the match.

———————————-

82nd minute- GOAL RED BULLS. DANLEIGH BORMAN WITH THE EQUALIZER!!!!! WOW

———————————-

79th minute- The red card was deserved, but the problem is with the referee, who could have prevented that from happening by calling the foul earlier. Can’t see the Red Bulls mustering an equalizer now.

———————————-

77th minute- VAN DEN BERGH RED CARD. He elbowed Arnaud in the face. Of course, the play happened when Arnaud fouled Van Den Bergh repeatedly without a call coming. Funny enough but the ref, Jair Marrufo, awarded the foul to the Red Bulls before sending off Van Den Bergh. Oh, and Arnaud got the yellow. WOW.

———————————-

75th minute- The rain is starting to pour here at Giants Stadium. Things could get sloppy in the late minutes.

———————————-

73rd minute- Richards tests Hartman from distance and yet another Red Bulls chance is stopped.

———————————-

71st minute- Doesn’t look like we’ll see any other subs from the Red Bulls tonight. I don’t see any activity on the bench.

———————————-

68th minute- Angel with a dangerous free kick opportunity and has it saved. Sassano has a free header on the rebound but sends it over. Another wasted chance.

———————————-

66th minute- Anybody ready to see Van Den Bergh in central midfield for a full match?

Tonight’s attendance: 15,755

———————————-

64th minute- ANGEL with a shot from close range saved by Hartman. What a save and the Red Bulls are pretty unlucky at this point not to be tied.

———————————-

60th minute- Van Den Bergh has been the best player for the Red Bulls tonight and he is paying for it now, having drawn two straight yellows from KC defenders trying to stop him.

———————————-

58th minute- Wow, Borman nearly finds another near-post goal, but has his shot saved. Would have loved to see his dance after that one.

———————————-

55th minute- What an absurd sequence in the penalty area. Red Bulls get about six swings at a shot, with Goldthwaite having one cleard off the line by Victorine. It looked like a U-6 game for a minute with all those swinging legs in the penalty area.

———————————-

52nd minute- Good news Red Bulls fans, the summer transfer window is less than a month away.

———————————-

49th minute- We’re seeing more of a 3-5-2 from the Red Bulls so far, with Borman and Richarrds up pretty high as wingers.

———————————-

HALFTIME- And we have Borman in for Magee. Van Den Bergh is sitting in central midfield. He will be as concerned with gaining some possession as he will be with joining the attack.

———————————-

HALFTIME- Wizards 1, Red Bulls 0. Credit to the Wizards, which have handled Altidore and Angel well. Rookie Chance Myers has done well against Altidore, though he has has some help. The Red Bulls central midfield has been awful. I’m not sold on Andrew Boyens at all, but there just aren’t many other options.

Subs? Borman for Magee. Slide Goldthwaite into central defense and Van Den Bergh to left back. Borman on the left flank. Put in Ubiparipovic for Boyens, slide Freeman to right back and Richards to right wing and switch to a 4-4-2 formation.

At the very least I think we need to see Borman in for Magee, even if you don’t change the formation (though I’m not sure a Van Den Bergh-Sassano central midfield will do that much better in terms of holding possession.

———————————-

43rd minute- KC nearly finds a second goal but the shot is deflected for yet another Wizards corner.

———————————-

42nd minute- What adjustments should we expect at the half? I would replace Magee with Danleigh Borman and slide Van Den Bergh into central midfield. I might also consider Ubiparipovic for Sassano.

———————————-

40th minute- What have we learned tonight. 1) Kansas City’s central midfield>LA Galaxy’s central midfield and 2) Having a rookie and someone who hasn’t played in two years is not the combo you want in central midfield.

———————————-

36th minute- As if things couldn’t get worse, Kevin Goldthwaite is down. Lower back injury, possibly spasm.

———————————-

32nd minute- Mike Magee has been invisible tonight.

———————————-

29th minute- Jewsbury with a goal-saving clearance on Jozy Altidore, who had a wide-open look on goal but his hard shot is blocked. Great play by Jewsbury.

———————————-

24th minute- Some Keystone Cops defending from the Red Bulls. To be fair, the central midfield is being overrun.

———————————-

22nd minute- One thing very clear about this Red Bulls lineup is that it just can’t keep possession. Too much booting the ball up and hoping.

———————————-

20th minute- GOAL WIZARDS. Jimmy Conrad heads home a KC corner kick. Marinelli with the corner. Jeff Parke just loses Conrad on the play. Wizards 1, Red Bulls 0.

———————————-

18th minute- Wow, Van Den Bergh with a rocket that forces a punch away from Hartman. Van Den Bergh has one of the more underrated left-footed shots in the league. He looks very good tonight

———————————-

12th minute- Magee is hurt, but gets up. A lot of Red Bulls fans were holding their breath there.

———————————-

9th minute- Goldthwaite with a chance for a side-volley from close range but he mis-hits it.

———————————-

7th minute- Will be interesting to see how Boyens handles Claudio Lopez tonight. There are questions about Boyens speed that will be answered tonight.

———————————-

5th minute- We’re five minutes in and neither team has taken a hold of this game. Van Den Bergh had a nice run through the midfield and looks good early.

———————————-

PRE-GAME- Look for the Red Bulls to actually play a 3-4-3 formation tonight, it should look more like this:

Altidore————–Angel————-Richards

————————-Magee———————–

Van Den Bergh————————-Freeman

———————–Sassano———————

Goldthwaite———-Parke————-Boyens

————————Conway——————–

Something that needs to be made clear is that Altidore and Richards will operate as forwards, so all the complaints about Altidore being used as a wing midfielder are misguided. Altidore has operated as a wide forward in recent weeks and will do so again tonight. This formation could create some problems for a KC defense playing a four-man back-line tonight.

———————————-

PRE-GAME- Tonight’s ref Jair (not pronounced hair) Marrufo.

———————————-

PRE-GAME- So why Boyens? KC relies a lot on service into the penalty area, particularly from Claudio Lopez floating onto the flank, and Boyens is well-equipped to handle the aerial attack. Parke will deal with Scott Sealy while Freeman and Boyens will keep tabs on Lopez and Victorine working the left flank.

———————————–

KANSAS CITY STARTING LINEUP

———-Lopez———-Sealy————

—————–Marinelli——————

Victorine——————————Pore

——————Jewsbury—————–

Myers—————————Harrington

———-Conrad—–Wahl—————–

—————-Hartman——————–

BENCH– Kronberg, Arnaud, Trujillo, Morsink, Zavagnin, Holhbein

———————————-

RED BULLS STARTING LINEUP

———-Angel———–Altidore————

———————Magee——————-

Van Den Bergh———————Richards

———————Sassano——————

Goldthwaite———————–Freeman

—————-Parke—-Boyens————

———————Conway—————-

BENCH– Thornton, Wolyniec, Mendes, Borman, Leitch, Ubiparipovic, Megaloudis

Yes, Andrew Boyens is set to make his first start since joining the Red Bulls.

Comments

  1. I knew this game was going to be bad as soon as I saw who was officiating the match. I was at the game so I saw more blown/missed calls by this horrible ref!

    Thank God for Borman.

    Magee shows how ineffective he is without Reyna who allows him to attack more rather than dropping back to help in MidField defense.

    Angel and Jozy were playing to deep in the midfield and away from goal. Angel was more of a playmaker tonight rather than a forward. He needs to be at the end of the ball not be the one passing it. Jozy – can’t really do much when the entire KC defense is draped around you and not getting any calls.

    Reply
  2. VDB was great. I understand the red card being shown, but that really bites. I’m not defending him completely, but he’s like seven inches taller than Arnaud. Of course he’s gonna make contact with Arnaud’s face.

    Reply
  3. Hard fought, come from behind draw. Danleigh Borman coming through again and you gotta love him keep trying to get his celebration down pat. Few more goals, he’ll get it.

    Reply
  4. Ives, my question is about Angel. Am I being paranoid, or is his body language not great these days? Maybe it’s that he hasn’t been 100%, but he looks frustrated on the field more than anything else, even though he wasn’t bad tonight. Any insight on Angel’s state of mind? And while you’re at it, what do you think of Jozy’s current state of mind, what with the talk of his fatigue and whatnot?

    Reply
  5. Good effort by the Red Bulls to come back from down a goal and get a point, but as a home game we really lost two points here.

    Next weekend against Chicago will be challenging. If a coach gets tossed, I don’t believe he’s out for the next game — I think that only applies to players, but someone correct me if I’m wrong.

    Danleigh Borman… putting himself into rookie of the year contention by distinguishing himself from an otherwise undistiguished pack of rookies. Very interesting… who would have thought?

    Reply
  6. That takes some of the sting off of that BS red. There is NO WAY that that could be a red card given that Marrufo has called this whole game from a no blood, no foul approach. VDB was just trying to shake off Arnaud who was quite simply humping VDB from behind.

    And now Osorio is sent off for pointing out to Marrufo that he isn’t fit to officiate a U-6 match.

    Reply
  7. I know this is the Red Bulls and I know how things usually end up, but there is NO WAY they are not scoring one in the last 26+ minutes.

    Posted by: RS | May 17, 2008 at 08:59 PM

    I’m a long time Metro/RB fan, but for some reason tonight I felt they’d get one. Now the question is can they hold off one man down and possibly even steal all 3 points?

    Reply
  8. I know this is the Red Bulls and I know how things usually end up, but there is NO WAY they are not scoring one in the last 26+ minutes.

    Reply
  9. Meant to say Myers struggling at RIGHT back, not at left back. RB looking better but still missing an edge to their attack. Wings are looking better with Borman in and both him and Richards playing WIDE with Altidore in front of goal.

    They’re missing someone to orchestrate the attack. I guess that’s typically Reyna…

    I wish this team would have a proper attacking mid

    Reply
  10. Much more dynamic attack from los Toros now. VDB doing a good job both in the middle and on the wing. The backline + Freeman are doing a good job winning balls and VDB’s passing is helping to stabilize the midfield.

    Reply
  11. I think subbing VDB would be a mistake. His left foot, both shooting and crossing, have been and will continue to be important. We need a better ball winner in central midfield to play behind Magee, but I’m not sure the Red Bulls have such a player, unless Osorio wants to put a defender in at CDM.

    Reply
  12. I think subbing VDB would be a mistake. His left foot, both shooting and crossing, have been and will continue to be important. We need a better ball winner in central midfield to play behind Magee, but I’m not sure the Red Bulls have such a player, unless Osorio wants to put a defender in at CDM.

    Reply
  13. JCO can earn his money tonight with some tactical changes since that seems to be his forte. Go to 3-5-2 to shore up the midfield and to move Altidore closer to goal.

    KC hasn’t looked bad, but) has had some chances and can’t finish. Let’s hope they can finish one early and pit KC on their heels.

    Reply
  14. he has to sub van den bergh. he is soo stiff its not even funny. he is scared to challenge the ball in the air.

    Reply
  15. Ives, I don’t think Magee has actually been that bad. He’s been getting forward in the Red Bulls attack. He hasn’t been more involved mainly because our attacks are only coming from the wings – nothing up the middle. That’s largely because Sassano has failed to win or maintain possession.

    Reply
  16. Sorry Ives, must have missed the update. The 3-4-3 isn’t working anyway, they’re losing possession in the midfield.

    I’m hoping they take Boyens off at the half, put Borman on and switch to a 3-5-2:

    ——–Altidore——-Angel——–

    —————Magee—————-

    Borman———————-Richards

    ———VDB———Sassano——–

    ——-Goldy—-Parke—-Freeman—-

    ————–Conway—————-

    Chance Myers isn’t doing well at left back, I think it would be better to put speedy Borman in to test him and put the forwards together to add pressure against the two centerbacks.

    Reply
  17. Jozy on the flank is such a poor choice. He has been completely ineffective this entire season, and if Osorio watched more than 2 RBNY matches last year he would realize how great the tandem of JPA and Jozy is up top. Unless his master plan is to make Jozy look like (crap) to the scouts, I don’t see how this makes any sense whatsoever. We have lacked any creativity going forward, and I think this is a general sign of what we desperately need as a squad. Once again if JO had watched a single match last year(and it only had to be playoffs) he would realize counting on Reyna to be fit and effective is another poor choice.

    Reply
  18. MSG reporting that Osorio is not playing a 4-4-2 but rather playing a 3-4-3 (I think he alluded recently that he would try this).

    Here’s the formation per MSG:

    —————–Angel—————-

    ——-Altidore———Richards——

    —————-Magee—————–

    ——VDB—————–Freeman—–

    ————–Sassano—————–

    —–Goldy——Parke—–Boyens——

    —————Conway—————–

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Eugene Cancel reply