D.C. United is at Giants Stadium today to take on the New York Red Bulls in an Eastern Conference clash that should be a heated encounter (and not just because it's 120 degrees on the field).
The Red Bulls are coming off a loss to Kansas City on Thursday while D.C. is coming in off a stirring comeback draw vs. New England.
I will be providing commentary throughout the match. Please feel free to follow along, and as always, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action.
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FINAL– That's all for me from today's game. Please feel free to share your post-game thoughts on the match in the comments section below. Thanks for following along.
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FINAL– Credit to DC United today for not giving up on this one after going down. It's as if the Red Bulls completely shut down after taking the lead while DC woke up and put all sorts of pressure on the Red Bulls.
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FINAL– DC United 3, Red Bulls 2.
Pacheco broke some hearts today with a Cichero-like meltdown. Who would have seen that coming.
Here's some food for thought. The Red Bulls have dropped a total of five points in the 89th minute or later after giving up a lead against New England and today vs. DC United. Those five points will absolutely come back to haunt New York when the playoff stretch drive comes in September.
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92nd minute– What a nightmarish ending to this game for the Red Bulls. Pacheco to blame on the third goal as well. Instead of clearing the ball out, he let it roll to Conway, who wasn't expecting that. Just awful.
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91st minute- GOAL DC UNITED!!!!!!!!! And DC has scored two late. Chris Pontius with the game-winner. WOW!!!!!
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90th minute- GOAL DC UNITED!!!!! and it's Luciano Emilio with the goal. Pacheco gets beat badly on that one and we're tied. DC 2, Red Bulls 2.
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89th minute– Red Bulls holding on here. Smith has slid back practically as a left back in what looks more like a 4-4-2. DC is pressing.
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86th minute– Rojas takes a long-range blast and doesn't miss by much. He's feeling it today.
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85th minute– Pietravallo's entrance has made Red Bulls fans cringe from Hoboken to Queens.
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84th minute– Juan Pietravallo comes in for Jeremy Hall. Sassano moves to right back.
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81st minute– Thabiso Khumalo comes on for Rodney Wallace. DC's last sub. No, Jaime Moreno did not dress today.
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77th minute– Another great sequence from the Red Bulls attack, but Crayton does well to save a Kandji shot. Rojas is a man possessed and these Red Bulls are playing a million times better than in the first half.
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75th minute– Angel with the header on another Jorge Rojas ball in, Crayton saves but Richards pounces on the rebound. Great stuff from Rojas and Kandji since coming in at halftime.
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74th minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!!!! And it's Dane Richards!!!!!!!!!! Red Bulls 2, DC United 1.
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70th minute– Angel never needs much room to create a chance and now the Red Bulls have the momentum.
Today's attendance is 10,303. That's apparently in dog attendance, because it looks more like 2,000 (though yes, the announced number is tickets distributed. Looks like 8,000 people decided to go to the beach instead).
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68th minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it's Juan Pablo Angel with the header goal off a great free kick in from Jorge Rojas. Red Bulls 1, DC United 1.
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67th minute– Kandji with a near-post shot that is saved by Crayton. Angel was on the back-post but was marked. Better from the Red Bulls.
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65th minute– Red Bulls force a corner. They got close last corner.
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63rd minute– D.C. looks to have expended much of its energy in the first half and isn't nearly as dangerous now. Can the Red Bulls pounce?
Richards just doesn't look good today.
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60th minute– Brandon Barklage comes on for Fred.
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57th minute– Yes, that was Hall with the rough challenge on Wallace. College friendships have to wait when you're in the pros.
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55th minute– Pacheco is having a pretty bad game today. After setting the bar high in his first few games he's been mediocre today.
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53rd minute– Jacobson gets a yellow after just coming into the match. Red Bulls on the attack right now. At least before that wasted free kick by Rojas. We might need to do bad free kicks as a drinking game.
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51st minute– Richards gets beaten by Wallace, whose passes catches Conway out of the net. Emilio can't convert though and the Red Bulls remain down 1-0.
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50th minute– Andrew Jacobson comes on for Ben Olsen. You had to figure that Olsen wouldn't last too long on the turf with his bad ankles.
The Red Bulls attack looks much more lively now and Kandji is at the heart of that revival.
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49th minute– Ubiparipovic will have the freedom to roam around in this formation. It's up to him to make things happen.
What a great move by Kandji and sequence by the Red Bulls.
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46th minute– Osorio with the wise move to remove Boyens, who was looking like an injured gazelle about to be pounced on by lions.
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HALFTIME– We are going to see a 3-5-2 from here on out from the Red Bulls. Should be interesting.
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HALFTIME– So why didn't Kandji start? I'd gather that concerns about his tender ankle led to it.
Kandji is coming in for Odoru
Rojas is coming on for Boyens
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HALFTIME– Kandji and Rojas look like they're going to be halftime subs. They are getting instructions on the sideline.
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HALFTIME– If you're wondering where Carlos Mendes is, he's out with a shoulder injury suffered vs. Kansas City. The drop-off from him to Boyens looks considerable. It isn't that Boyens is the worst defender around, it's just that he matches up much better vs. big forwards than against quicker forwards.
Kandji and Rojas have come out early for warm-ups. Could they be halftime subs?
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HALFTIME– D.C. United 1, Red Bulls 0. The Red Bulls are VERY fortunate to only be down a goal after sleepwalking through the first 45 minutes. D.C. has energy, is moving the ball well and looks to be in total control here. Khano Smith, Sinisa Ubiparipovic and Dom Oduro all need to come out of this game, because they've contributed nothing to this game.
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45th minute– Hall clears a Wallace shot off the line with a header. Not sure how that wasn't a foul against D.C. to pick off Conway. Great play by Hall.
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44th minute– Scrum in the area leads to nothing for New York.
D.C. has taken the subtle approach of placing Quaranta right with Boyens and having Chris Pontius attack from central midfield. Boyens just can't handle that and is a very good bet to be burned at some point.
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42nd minute– This Red Bulls attack is awful. They can't keep it on the gorund and can't piece passes together. D.C. gets some credit for applying good pressure, but the Red Bulls are settling for booting long balls and it's just not an approach that is going to yield many chances. If Kandji doesn't come in at halftime I can't see the Red Bulls doing much offensively.
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39th minute– Ubiparipovic is too slow to chase down a ball on what had looked like a good Red Bulls sequence. He just hasn't looked good today. Rojas needs to come into this game. And for those wondering. Albert Celades is not in uniform. He's still hurt.
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37th minute– D.C. certainly looks like the fresher team today, but Red Bulls fans shouldn't take too much comfort in the team being tired from Thursday's loss to KC as an excuse. Only four starters from Thursday (Conway, Goldthwaite, Pacheco and Angel) started in the KC loss.
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36th minute– Oduro with a weak shot inside the area. Yes, that's a drink.
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34th minute– Clyde Simms with the yellow card for a foul on Dane Richards. Here's a question. How long will we have to wait for the Red Bulls midfield to string two passes together?
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33rd minute– Good attacking movement from D.C. today. This game could get ugly if the Red Bulls don't wake up soon.
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32nd minute– Jorge Rojas has been warming up for some time. I think we will see him shortly.
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29th minute– Today's first drinking game will be missed chances by Dom Oduro. Get your cups ready.
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27th minute– D.C. is all over the Red Bulls and Juan Carlos Osorio's central midfield is being run off the field.
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26th minute– Quaranta breaks in alone on Conway but sends his chip over the bar. What a chance.
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25th minute– Wow, Andrew Boyens looks slow. Now I know that isn't news to anybody, but D.C. is going to have a field day running at him today with the likes of Pontius, Quaranta and Fred.
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23rd minute– Wallace with the finish past former Maryland teammate Jeremy Hall. And there's Quaranta with the nice cross in. I said he's looked good today and there he is. Former Red Bulls jinx strikes again.
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21st minute- GOAL DC UNITED!!! Rodney Wallace with the finish!! DC 1, Red Bulls 0.
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21st minute– Here is the Red Bulls lineup:
————–Angel———–Oduro—————-
Smith——Sassano—-Ubiparipovic—-Richards
Pacheco—-Goldthwaite—Boyens———Hall
———————-Conway———————
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17th minute– Santino Quaranta has been very active today. He's creating problems for Jeremy Hall today. By the way, Hall is 4-1 to get a red card today. Not because's he's dirty, but because he's a Red Bulls right back.
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16th minute– Today's first drinking game will be missed chances by Dom Oduro. Get your cups ready.
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14th minute– Apologies for the slow start. I'll blame the heat. by the way, I recommend folks use Gatorade or water for today's drinking games. We don't want anybody having heat stroke.
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12th minute– Sassano takes a hard shot to the face and is being checked out on the sidelines. D.C. has had more of the possession early, but still no real chances. Juan Pablo Angel put a good free kick on goal that Louis Crayton struggled to save.
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5th minute– We're under way here and the teams are still feeling each other out. D.C. with a corner kick.
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All I can say is that I am a devoted DC fan, and was at the game, and had the time of my life. I have high hopes for these young rookies and no offense to Gomez, but he hasn’t done much this year as it is, so having him off the starting 11 isn’t a problem for me.
Why didn’t we hear anything from the limited NY fanbase there at the game, seemed like we had more fans than you did. And I don’t think that all the soccer fans are also hockey fans watching the Rangers lose at the same time….
Another game and another tough loss. What else is new with this team. No matter who they get as coach they cannot win. I love the Red Bulls and always a loyal fan but realize we simply guys do not have the players. Conway LOL come on. Never comes out to get the ball and is always out of place . the worst goalie in the league. Luke Sassano is horrible does not know how to shoot, cannot defend and for his AGE is Slow and Pathetic and always out of place.
Angel has every right to put his arms in the air because stupid Conway is the only goalie in the league who pussies around with his defenders and cannot kick the ball down field. He is slow and should be released TODAY. Lets get a new goalie! Besides Rojas we have no midfield who can also attack. Khano Smith is a waterboy at best and should be gone from the MLS. Anybody ever watch suck a SCRUB give the ball to the other team on every play and NeVER hustle back on defense. HOrrible attitude and no SKill.
Better luck next year for the Red Bull.
I agree kpugs. RBNY has achieved a new low today. And I am officially out of the “keep Osorio, give the new coach a chance” club. Expect a “crowd” of about 5,000 at the next game. Pathetic.
I can’t even be bothered to come up with an original post, so I’ll just copy one I made elsewhere:
As a guy who has spent 14 years as a frustrated fan of this club, I don’t think I”ve ever been as pissed effing off as I was after this game. I hope they are enjoying my tens of thousands of dollars, because I’m not. Pathetic is too weak a word. I’m sick of this.
I bow down to all the haters, including those with no reason whatsoever to hate this club other than that it’s based in “NY.” Accept my humble bowing down fellas. It’s f***ing pathetic and I’m not sure how much more I can take.
10,000 NYRB voices < 100 Screaming Eagles/Bara Brava voices
I really hope US Soccer has no intentions of signing Osorio as its MNT head coach in the future.
Congratulations OSORIO..TIME YOU GOOOOOOOOOOO………..heheheeeee is not a coach head……is a water boy….BIG HEAD
Kevin, you’re a DC fan. Of course you heard your supporters. I’m an NY fan. Until the last five minutes, I only heard ESC. Haig is right. Your tunes are going to be the only ones that stand out to your ears.
Posted by: Joamiq | April 26, 2009 at 06:06 PM
Really? Ok then, maybe you guys are right. But it sure did seem to me like the United supporters were the only ones singing for a vast majority of the match.
Just got back from Jersey. That was inexcusable all around. Osorio must take fair share of the blame for trying to play defense in Red Bulls’ half of the field with 10 minutes left.
Conway, Pacheco and Osorio owe every season ticket holder an apology for that one.
Congrats NY. No red card today 😉
At various times on TV, I heard the ESC better than the DC supporters; and at other times, I heard the DC supporters better than the ESC. I don’t know why either case should surprise or incense anyone — it’s a function of where the play was on the field, which mics had their gain turned up the most at the time, which team had had energizing events occur recently, etc.
There are such better things to argue about than this.
No idea how we lost this one today…First half we played like crap but when JCO put Rojas and Big Mac on we played some good soccer…Then all our hard work went down the drain in the final 2 minutes of the game…My God it makes me sick to watch this team at times : (
Kevin, you’re a DC fan. Of course you heard your supporters. I’m an NY fan. Until the last five minutes, I only heard ESC. Haig is right. Your tunes are going to be the only ones that stand out to your ears.