Photo by ISIphotos.com
If there were a crisis prevention hot-line for New York Red Bulls fans (and let's face it, there should be one after 13 years of agony), the phones would be ringing off the hook after Sunday's embarrassing late-game meltdown. The Red Bulls were winning 2-1, in complete control, then they let up and D.C. United made them pay.
This type of late-game collapse is hardly new in the annals of club history, but that doesn't make it any less mind-boggling to watch. The defeat wasn't about Juan Carlos Osorio's substitutions or tactical changes, and certainly not about lineup rotations. Sunday's loss was about players relaxing when they couldn't afford to, and taking a win for granted when they shouldn't have.
Sunday's loss was about Alfredo Pacheco falling asleep long enough to let Luciano Emilio streak past him in the penalty area for a clear header equalizer. It was also about communication breakdown between Pacheco and goalkeeper Jon Conway that allowed Chris Pontius to pounce and finish off the most unlikely of game winners.
Another three points dropped, another punch in the gut and another game to leave Red Bulls fans wondering what they ever did to deserve this revolving door of disappointment.
Is it really ready to write the season off in April? Do I really need to remind people that some of the team's worst starts to the season have resulted in some of the best years, while some of the best starts have led to bitter disappointment? That aside, the late-game failings of the start of this season could prove much more costly than the slow starts of year's past.
Why? The league has 15 teams now, not 10 or 12 like years past. That means seven teams won't make the playoffs, which means the Red Bulls have to finish better than seven teams to reach the post-season. Right now the Red Bulls have more points than exactly three teams and have given away five, count them, five valuable points in last-minute results vs. New England and D.C. United.
Sunday's loss is the most tough result to take because the Red Bulls had played some of the best attacking soccer of the year for a good 25 minute stretch in the second half. That stretch led to two goals, a lead and hope for a crucial home victory. At least before the team fell asleep with time still left on the clock.
D.C. United's comeback didn't begin with Emilio's equalizing header in the 90th minute. It began when the Red Bulls were toying with D.C., up 2-1 and seemingly unconcerned with the necessity for a third goal. Players started holding the ball more, dancing with the ball more and not doing the things that gave the Red Bulls the lead in the first place.
That subtle arrogance surely lit a fire under D.C. United, which never stopped trying to get the road result, so while the Red Bulls was practically moon-walking to the finish line, D.C. was racing and pushing hard and putting itself into position for the shock comeback.
Does this mean the season is lost and Red Bulls fans should start saving their money for 2010? Not quite. Easily forgotten in the midst of the loss was the great performances by Mac Kandji and Jorge Rojas, as well as yet another solid showing from Kevin Goldthwaite, not to mention Juan Pablo Angel scoring and setting up another. Yes, there were alarming performances, particularly by Alfredo Pacheco, as well as the frustrating displays by Dom Oduro and Khano Smith, but the Red Bulls showed signs in the second half of being the dangerous attacking side they were supposed to be when the season began.
When the dust settles from Sunday's loss, the Red Bulls will look to an MLS schedule that features three upcoming matches against teams with the same points or fewer than they have, as well as a month of May that features four straight home games. The Red Bulls very well could turn things around, but the reality is that they aren't going to beat anybody delivering incomplete performances like the one they gave on Sunday.
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What did you think of the Red Bulls' late-game collapse? Are you a Red Bulls fan who has written off the season? Are you one of the few who still has some hope? Are you a DC fan loving New York's misery?
Share your thoughts below.
I DONT AGREE THAT WAS PIETRAVALLO’S FAULT….HE IS ACTUALLY A GREAT PLAYER!! I THINK THE BIG BLAME IS ON OSSORIO HE IS NOT GIVING TRUST TO THE PLAYERS…THERE ARE GREAT PLAYERS BUT WITH THAT COACH WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!!
1. $hit happens, get over it!
2. We are not the worst team in the league.
3. The champions has not won yet this year.
4. NE got hammered 6-0.
5. We deserved to win three of the games we lost, so what? this will even out as the season progresses
We will win some we won’t deserve to win; the team that should be playing when healthy should be a competitive team.
JCO is to blame for this game but he deserves to finish the season (unless we keep losing like no tomorrow). Let’s give him a BREAK! (remember Sigi Schmith in Columbus) and we are not nearly sucking as bad as Columbus was until they got Schelotto; so be patient!
Can we PLEASE take the focus off of the Metro?! They are not the worst team, LA GALAXY certainly BITES.
And I actually think the previously undefeated Revs 6-0 loss to RSL was way more embarassing than this loss to DC SCUM.
Some German guy is looking for a coaching job. 🙂
Hey Smith, better not complain too much about DCU fans, if we don’t come up you won’t have enough fans for the team to open the concessions stands.
Pietravallo! I know! It was a white flag. I don’t think he’s THAT bad a player, but for some reason his very entrance into a game spells certain disaster for us. Honestly, he came on and my friend and I both looked at each other and oh-sh**-ed. Sure enough. Lad’s got a voodoo curse on him; though, ostensibly, the goals were pretty poor examples of goal-keeping on Conway’s part.
The only thing that makes this remotely bearable is knowing that United is moving to St Louis & their idiot fans will be without a team.
Also, Pacheco: Every pass is a give away. I counted 7 in a row in the second half. Unacceptable.
Richie! Richie! Richie!
Ives, I’ve been reading you since the Herald News days, but I couldn’t disagree more on a couple of points.
While Osorio is an easy target, you can’t say tactics had little bearing on the result. The irony here is that the defense-minded, tactical genius had 2 defnders on the field in the last 7 minutes trying to hold a one goal lead!
Another irony is that had he not totally out-thought himself yet again, he would have gotten a lot of credit for a good tactical move at halftime (though you could argue WTH is Kandji doing on the bench to begin with).
And as far as players holding the ball more with the lead, I don’t think that was the problem. There were a few times they’d string together around 10 passes until a defender pumped an aimless long ball and gave away possession.
Finally, I think you’re the only one who touted this team a potential offensive juggernaut. We certainly have the forwards, but the midfield leaves a lot to be desired (though improved yesterday).
The sooner JCO is fired, the better.
Klinsmann for RBNY in teh new arena!
I agree with Scott. While RBNY fans might feel like they’ve been kicked in the nuts so far this year, you guys only have to go back one season to find playoff success.
The FC Dallas fans could only be so lucky.
Supsam you are right on the money.
second: Richie Williams head coach
I have been a Metro Red Bull fan since day 1.
Even had season tickets in ’96.
We suck.
We will never be winners.
We just don’t have that mentality.
It comes from the top down.
Historically we trade away the best players as well as the ones with the most potential.
Currently Osorio changes the line-up so often the players themselves can’t even believe in each other.
I feel bad for Angel the most. He deserves better.
And to top it off, MSG left the game 6 minutes early so I went off thinking the game was won.
I should have known better.
I have to agree with JesseMT, it was a pretty exciting weekend of MLS. I watched the highlights of the KC/Toronto game this morning and it looked like a very exciting game, although only one goal was scored. And two late comebacks were very exciting to watch, even though I had to listen to Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan 90 minutes more than I prefer.
Three things jumped out at me watching the DC/New York game that have been consistent so far this season:
1) DC’s backline can’t mark a man in a wheelchair. Especially Burch, I love him, but he sucks at marking.
2) Benny is the heart of the team. When he is in, the midfield is solid, without him, there is a gap that Simms can’t seem to fill.
3) Kandji, Angel, and Rojas make up a dangerous triangle up top. They need to get consistent time on the field for the Red Bulls to score goals.
Even though it sucks to be a Red Bulls fan this morning, the game was very exciting to watch. It was wide open, and had a thrilling ending.
What Joe D said….
It must be difficult to be a Red Bulls fan.
C’mon AltiCooper, I need at least 4 more postings about this debacle, just so I can get every angle on the Red “Steer” NY implosion.
AltiCooper, if you don’t want to read the articles then don’t read them. Otherwise, STFU.
Sorry to say i must agree… does there really need to be THREE articles on this disaster of a game. Most of the goals were garbage anyways.
FIRE THE COACH ASAP!
FIRE THE COACH ASAP!
Need to salvage the season before it is too late.
Give Richie Williams the job. He did a good job the 1st time he was an interim coach. He deserves a shot at full time coaching.
Osorio has no idea of what he is doing. He changes the lineup too much. You could see that the first half lineup was not on the same page.
Also, get read of Richards. He play does nothing but frastrade me. Makes the wrong decision 9-1/2 out of 10 times.
new york fans cry too much. you know who the only two teams to never play in the mls cup are? seattle, partly because at this point it is impossible. the other is dallas, a team that has existed from day one. dallas is also dead last in the league currently, along with already exiting the open cup. and to top it off, nobody attends our games.
I think the red bulls will be fine if these 5 things are done:
1) Dont start Khano Smith
2) Dont start Dominic Oduro
3) Borman fills in Smith’s spot
4) Kanji gets healthy
5) Celedes gets healthy
but its so much fun 🙁
The worst part is that I Tivo’ed the game. MSG switched to the Rangers’ post-game show with about 5 minutes left with the Red Bulls up 2-1!
Gerald, I totally agree with you. ESC…no more wipeout at the 88th minute!
Sorry Red Bull fans – I think Ives is right that the upcoming schedule should provide some hope.
I will say though that the DCU and Chicago road comebacks this weekend provided great entertainment. The atmosphere at Crew Stadium seemed very good on TV and the level of play was quite high as well.
@ GunneRR
why are you blaming Pietravallo? Clearly Pacheco was the cause of the Bulls loss
I’m starting to believe in the “Wipeout Curse” when it comes to this team
Putting in Pietravallo = Going into a defensive shell = Giving up the equalizer (or, in this case, TWO late goals).
Don’t put in Pietravallo!
Never been so disappointed after a match. Just an unbelievable meltdown, but you could tell that they were just sitting back on the lead and asking for trouble. There need to be some hard questions asked about Osorio. His teams are mentally very fragile, not to mention tactically devoid of ideas.
1. I’ve said repeatedly that I think the key to RBNY’s season this year is service to the frontline. When the service isn’t there or the team takes the foot off the pedal than it’s not a strong team and it pays badly.
I think some people will insist that this RBNY loss was about poor defense or poor communication but I’d argue that those are very limited perspectives. When Olsen went out that meant a lot of the midfield pressure from DCU went out. Rojas came in and benefited from that absence, had maybe his best half of soccer this season. If RBNY had kept up the pressure, no-one would be talking about defense or communication. Neither DCU or RBNY has the kind of talent defensively where either team can lay back, seek only to defend and expect to get good results consistently.
2. Totally agree with you Ives about how a losing/.500 record isn’t going to get someone in the playoffs this year. And with a stronger West (it’s completely reasonable to assume that RSL, Seattle, Chivas and maybe Houston make the playoffs in the West), what we’re really saying is that teams like DCU and RBNY have to finish in the top 4 (rather than just in the top 8).
3. I think RBNY fans need to avoid going into the toilet over the next week. The team is off to a lousy start for the 4 games in 10 days stretch. This was the match you’d figure that they’d get a good result in (at home). The road match against SJ will be tough and tiring. It’s rapidly becoming clear that despite the number of bodies, there are a couple of guys besides Angel: that the team really needs to have on the field so it’s not like JCO has a lot of realistic sub options when it comes to say…Kandji. Even the LAG match–Galaxy will be coming off a week’s rest, not so for RBNY. So it’s entirely possible that RBNY could come out of this 4 game stretch with 0 points and fans feeling very down about the team. And that would be unrealistic. This is just going to be a brutal stretch of games for a team that doesn’t have as much depth as you’d think (ie: depth on paper but Oduro, Richards, and most of the central defenders either aren’t getting it done or don’t have JCO’s confidence). But this stretch of games is not a verdict on the team or the season, just a very difficult stretch for a team that really needs to have Angel and Kandji on the field (and healthy) to be successful.
There is always one constant in sports, business etc..
Blame always goes to the top, no matter who was to blame on the field, the blame goes to Osorio. Sorry to say it, but that is the way it is.
(hits the “like” button on his facebook)
There are few games that make me laugh out loud, but that was one of them. RBNY needs to have a day where they bring in circus clowns so they can learn from some real experts. Thanks for the BIG LOL, Red Bull!