Good afternoon folks. I’m at Giants Stadium, where the Red Bulls are playing the Harrisburg City Islanders of USL-2 in a scrimmage. It’s a chance to see the many new faces in camp in action.
I will do a running commentary so feel free to follow along and share your thoughts below:
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1:38pm– Poltronieri is decent on the ball but I’m not sure he’s much of an upgrade.
And it’s over. I’m heading down for interviews so check back in here later today for more on the Red Bulls. As always, feel free to share your thoughts on the scrimmage below.
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1:35pm– Harrisburg scores on a Boyens miscue late. This thing is winding down.
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1:30pm– Almost forgot to point out that Red Bulls assistant coach Richie Williams has come into the match and is playing left back for Harrisburg.
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1:29pm- GOAL Ricky Schramm a real nice finish of a great pass in from Roth, who placed it just over his shoulder and Schramm finished it off.
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1:25pm– Ricky Schramm is in for Wolyniec.
Not sure about the Kljestan as centerback experiment, or the Borman at forward look.
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1:23pm– The Costa Rican’s name is Brandon Poltronieri in case you missed it yesterday. SBI was the first to let you know about him and watching him play I’ll say he’s a decent player. Worth a roster spot? Not really sure yet.
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1:20pm– Not a lot of noteworthy action here. Borman at forward is an interesting twist.
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1:17pm– Nice tackle and subsequent run with the ball by the Costa Rican.
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1:15pm– Juan Pablo Angel is resting today, which makes sense. No point in him taking a beating on this turf.
GOAL BOYENS. Header off a Magee ball in off a short corner from Borman.
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1:10pm- Cepero has come out of the match. Here is the Red Bulls lineup for the third session:
———-Borman——-Wolyniec—————-
Roth————Ubiparipovic————Magee
——————Costa Rican——————-
Gilkerson—-Kljestan—Boyens——–Sassano
——————-Thornton———————-
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1:05pm– The second session only lasted 20 minutes so we’re in another break right now.
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1:03pm- MLS reserves will be announced later today but I have received word that Angel, Pat Onstad, Steve Raltson and Dwayne DeRosario are among the selections. The list will be released at 2pm.
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1:02pm– I just received word that Juan Pablo Angel has, in fact, been selected by Steve Nicol for the All-Star Game.
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1:01– Good stuff from this Red Bulls group.
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12:59pm– Here’s the lineup now:
—————–Wolyniec——————–
VDB————–Rojas————Richards
————-Magee—–Mendes—————
Gilkerson—-Boyens—Parke———-Leitch
——————-Thornton——————
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12:58pm– Now Rojas and Van Den Bergh have switched positions.
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12:56pm-Some better passing from the Red Bulls, which is key for this formation. You need possession in order for the wide players to get forward and turn this into almost a 4-3-3. Otherwise you wind up with a lonely forward battling double-teams.
Great cross in from Van Den Bergh finds a wide-open Dane Ricards in the area, but he shanks his attempted right-footed volley. Good sequence though.
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12:55pm– Mendes is in for Stammler and Wolyniec is in for Welcome.
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12:52pm– Looks like Jimenez got hurt at some point. Gilkerson is set to come in. Interesting to see Rojas slide into the left back spot without missing a beat to cover for Jimenez not being on the field.
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12:50pm– Far less creativity and passing with this group. A lot of pumping balls to Welcome. Not really working.
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12:48pm– Dane Richards with a great run down the right flank and dribble into the box, but his cross attempt is deflected away.
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12:47pm– Harrisburg looking a little better this session. Just missed a clear chance near goal off a corner.
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12:4pm– Here is the second session Red Bulls lineup.
—————–Welcome——————–
Rojas————Magee————Richards
————-VDB—–Stammler—————
Jimenez—-Boyens—Parke———-Leitch
——————-Thornton——————
12:44– Looks like a 4-2-3-1 for the second session.
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12:43pm– The second session is under way.
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12:40pm– We’re in a break right now. Should be interesting to see what the second XI looks like for the Red Bulls.
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12:36pm– The first 30-minute mini-game is over. Red Bulls 2, Harrisburg 0. Of the new guys I would say Welcome didn’t show me that much, but the rest of the players did. Cichero looks good and Rojas sure looks like the playmaker the Red Bulls haven’t had since Amado Guevara.
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12:34pm– For those of you wondering, Danny Cepero is in net for Harrisburg. He hasn’t made any saves yet.
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12:31pm- GOAL RED BULLS. Jorge Rojas with a cool finish in the box after a nice sequence. Richards to Van Den Bergh, who crossed to Freeman inside the box. Goldthwaite volleys it to a wide-open Rojas, who takes a touch to create some space past a defender, and slides it inside the near-post. Great finish.
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12:30pm– I have to say I like Hunter Freeman at right mid. I know Osorio likes his ability to cross and make runs.
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12:27pm– Cichero is vocal and confident on the ball.
GOAL RED BULLS. Jeff Parke heads home a Van Den Bergh corner kick. Nice to see him put one of those away.
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12:26pm– Rojas is mobile, has good vision, and always looking to spring somebody with a pass.
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12:25pm– Jorge Rojas looks good in the No. 10 role.
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12:22pm- Here is the Red Bulls lineup for the first of three 30-minute periods:
———————–George Welcome——-Dane Richards—————
————————————–Jorge Rojas——————————-
Dave Van Den Bergh——————————————Hunter Freeman
————————-Carlos Mendes———Seth Stammler—————–
Kevin Goldthwaite—————–Gabriel Cichero—————-Jeff Parke
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——————-Jon Conway——————————
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12:21pm- It took me a while to get situated but the game is well under way. Jorge Rojas, Gabriel Cichero and George Welcome are all in the first lineup.