Good afternoon folks. I am coming to you from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, where the New York Red Bulls will be playing their final pre-season match before heading to Seattle for the season opener against the Seattle Sounders on March 19th.
Red Bulls fans will remember this match-up from last year's U.S. Open Cup, where Crystal Palace USA pulled off stunning upset. The Red Bulls will be looking for some revenge even though we probably won't see a true starting lineup at any point in this match.
I will be providing a running commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action:
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FINAL– Tonight's standouts for the Red Bulls? Jeremy Hall, Danny Cepero, Mike Petke and Matt Mbuta. Are the Red Bulls ready for the start of the regular season? Maybe not, but they have no choice. The 2009 season begins a week from tonight in Seattle. SBI will be there, just like we were here tonight.
Feel free to share your thoughts on tonight's match in the comments section below. Good night.
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FINAL– Red Bulls 2, Crystal Palace USA 0. Goals from Khano Smith and Matt Mbuta. It was a typical ugly pre-season game. Juan Carlos Osorio got to see some of his guys one more time in game situations and while it wasn't pretty overall, the Red Bulls had some solid performances.
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89th minute– Here is the Red Bulls starting lineup we could see vs. Seattle:
Kandji————Angel————–Richards
——————-Rojas———————–
———Stammler—-Sassano—————
Goldthwaite–Petke–Mendes———-Hall
——————-Cepero———————
Keep in mind that Khano Smith is suspended for this match. Osorio could just as easily go with a 4-5-1, but I'm not sure who plays on the left wing in a 4-2-3-1. It could be Kandji, though he would be better suited higher up, in a 4-3-3.
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88th minute– Mike Petke has also looked sharp tonight.
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88th minute– Red Bulls are closing out the match a man down.
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87th minute– For those wondering about Mbuta's goal celebration, it was modest. No backflips. He actually almost found a second goal. Red Bulls corner.
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85th minute– Danny Cepero has had a solid game tonight. He looks ready to pick up where he left off last year. No, he hasn't taken any full-field shots yet, but he's looked sharp.
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84th minute– Johnson won't be coming back in. No sub to replace him yet.
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82nd minute– Johnson is walking off the field with what looks like a shoulder or arm injury. Right arm. The Costa Rica fullback is still not under contract.
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80th minute– Johnson is down with an injury.
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79th minute– Oduro nearly blows by the Crystal Palace defense, but gets fouled. Yes, he can definitely move.
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79th minute– Billy Chiles comes in for Brian Rowland in the CP-USA goal.
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78th minute– Carlos Johnson draws a yellow for a sloppy tackle, then waves off the ref. Temper, temper Mr. Johnson.
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76th minute– Since this game is going nowhere, let's think about what the Red Bulls starting lineup might look like in their season opener vs. Seattle.
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74th minute– Red Bulls trying to create some chances, but Oduro can't get a good touch.
Jack Traynor just too a close-range shot to the chest. He's okay now.
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67th minute– This game has gotten pretty boring as both teams struggle to string passes together.
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64th minute– Not much going on so far. The Red Bulls attack has gone flat while Crystal Palace isn't doing much.
Jack Traynor is back in for Goldthwaite. Apparently we're playing college substitution rules.
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60th minute– The answer to the trivia question fro earlier was four. Danleigh Borman, Kevin Goldthwaite, Carlos Mendes and Luke Sassano are the only four players still on the Red Bulls who started in last year's U.S. Open Cup loss. Yes, that does say a lot.
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59th minute– Apologies for the delay, some technical difficulties.You didn't miss much.
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49th minute– Dangerous free kick for Crystal Palace but it misses wide left.
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48th- GOAL RED BULLS!!! It's Matt Mbuta, burning his former club. Wolyniec with the pass to set him up in front of goal. Red Bulls 2, Crystal Palace-USA 0.
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46th minute– And we're back.
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HALFTIME– Looks like Cepero will stay in the game, but the rest of the projected changes have been made.
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HALFTIME– Here is the second half lineup we are likely to see from the Red Bulls:
Oduro————–Wolyniec—————Mbuta
———-Ubiparipovic—-Zimmerman————-
——————–Pietravallo————————
Goldthwaite—Petke——Mendes——–Johnson
———————–Dufty—————————
Yes, that is Carlos Johnson, who we should get a chance to see. Albert Celades isn't going to play.
Jon Conway, Andrew Boyens and Danleigh Borman did not make the trip.
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HALFTIME– Red Bulls 1, Crystal Palace USA 0. Red Bulls have had the better of the play but Crystal Palace created more chances. Some good stuff from Hall and Smith today, as well as from Luke Sassano, who didn't look too bad. Who looked off? Kevin Goldthwaite didn't have a good first half. Neither did Jorge Rojas or Dane Richards. Juan Pablo Angel was kept in check.
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45th minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!! Khano Smith collects a long pass from Jeremy Hall and takes a good touch before finishing from 12 yards out. Red Bulls 1, Crystal Palace 0.
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41st minute– Seabrook sets up Amir Barbosa with a sitter in front of goal and Barbosa somehow whiffs on it. Wow, pretty shocking. Seabrook is having a game tonight.
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39th minute– We have seen quite a bit of Khano Smith cutting inside from the left, allowing space for overlaps from the fullback. That's probably something we'll see plenty of once Alfredo Pacheco gets here.
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37th minute– All credit due (Roy Kean voice) to CP-USA's defense, which has done well.
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36th minute– CP-USA flagged for offside for what seems like the 10th time.
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34th minute– One thing you can say about this Red Bulls group is that it is very mobile. Hall has looked smooth at right back, though the midfield has been mediocre so far.
SAVE CEPERO!!! A kick save on a Seabrook shot from close range.
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31st minute– Here's a trivia question for you Red Bulls fans. How many players who started for the Red Bulls in last year's loss to Crystal Palace are currently on the Red Bulls roster?
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29th minute– Jeremy Hall has shown off a very strong throw-in. Not Rory Delap-strong, but still pretty strong by MLS standards.
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28th minute– Khano Smith with a surging run into the area but he's shouldered off the ball before he can get a shot off.
Red Bulls are operating in more of a flat 4-4-2 with Rojas sitting pretty deep alongside Stammler.
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27th minute– Mike Petke has come on for Jack Traynor, shifting Goldthwaite to left back. That was a planned substitution.
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25th minute– CP-USA comes back but blows an easy look.
Red Bulls come right back as Kandji springs Richards in the area but Richards is denied by a great save from Rowland.
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24th minute– A nice spell of possession for the Red Bulls concludes in a long shot attempt by Jorge Rojas that is saved. Nice ball movement by the Red Bulls there.
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21st minute– For those wondering why this game is being played, it was included in the Red Bulls deal to acquire Matt Mbuta, who played for Crystal Palace USA last season.
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17th minute– Red Bulls get dispossessed in midfield and CP-USA counters quickly only to have an offside flag raised.
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16th minute– Jeremy Hall put on a sweet move on the right flank after making a run and being found by Rojas, but his cross is caught. Best sequence so far.
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14th minute– Crystal Palace seems content to try long passes from the back, which aren't making much of an impact, even against this make-shift Red Bulls defense.
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11th minute– Of the players who stood out for Crystal Palace in last year's upset win vs. New York, defender Andrew Marshall is the only one I remember. He scored the first goal in Crystal Palace's 2-0 win. No sign of Gary Brooks, who scored the second.
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9th minute– Kandji does well to close down a Crystal Palace defender and force a turnover in the area, but he and Jack Traynor can't connect on a pass as the offside flag goes up.
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8th minute– If the name Jordan Seabrook rings a bell, it should. Seabrook impressed at the MLS Combine and was drafted by the Columbus Crew in the fourth round of the 2009 MLS Draft. He did not make the Crew and has landed here. Speedy player who could cause some problems.
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5th minute– Crystal Palace starters are: Brian Rowland, Mateus dos Anjos, Andrew Marshall, Paul Robson, Eric Dougnagio, Alex Ughiovhe, Shintaro Harada, Jordan Seabrook, Tanner Wolfe, Amir Barbosa and Val Texeira.
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4th minute– Jeremy Hall is at right back and his first touches there look pretty comfortable. Still waiting for the NY attack to get going.
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2nd minute– Red Bulls are out in a standard diamond 4-4-2 formation.
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1st minute– Yes, Luke Sassano really is playing in central defense tonight. Andrew Boyens didn't make the trip so they were short.
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1st minute– And we're off.
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PRE-GAME- A pretty sparse crowd for tonight's match. A couple of hundred fans have made it out tonight. The Red Bulls are well-represented with a group of 20-30 fans who made the trip.
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PRE-GAME– Here is the Red Bulls starting lineup:
————–Angel——–Kandji—————–
———————–Rojas————————
Smith————————————–Richards
————————Stammler——————
Traynor–Goldthwaite—Sassano————-Hall
————————Cepero———————-