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Red Bulls at Galaxy: Match Night Commentary

New York Red Bulls - JPEG Los Angeles Galaxy - JPEG

The New York Red Bulls are at Home Depot Center tonight to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy in a battle of struggling teams.

The Red Bulls enter the match with just one win, while the Galaxy is still looking for its first win of the season. Three points is crucial for both teams, with a draw not likely to easy early-season fears.

I will be providing commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow the match here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

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FINAL– That's all for tonight. Please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Good night. 

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FINAL– Eight matches, five points, five shutouts against, last place in the East. FC Dallas has fewer points but it's hard to not call the Red Bulls the worst team in the league right now.

LA will look to build on this win, but I just don't see a team that will win many games this year, Beckham or not.

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FINAL- Galaxy 1, Red Bulls 0. The Galaxy still look like a bad team. The Red Bulls look worse.

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93rd minute– Rojas helps break up a breakaway. One minute left.

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91st minute– Red Bulls with a corner and it's caught by Ricketts easily. The corner comes after Wolyniec had an appeal for a penalty waived off.

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90th minute– Angel is whistled offside. This one looks like a lost cause for the Red Bulls.

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88th minute– Red Bulls long free kick. And Berhalter wins the header. Another wasted chance.

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86th minute– Can't the Red Bulls string some passes together in central midfield? Nope.

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84th minute– Jovan Kirovski comes on for Edson Buddle. Why is it that watching the Galaxy makes you think you're watching the Seniors Tour?

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83rd minute– Galaxy with a dangerous sequence. Conway has to swat a ball away.

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82nd minute– Anyone else think Donovan Ricketts looks like Quentin "Rampage" Jackson?

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81st minute– LA applying some pressure here and the Red Bulls haven't shown much attack lately.

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79th minute– Will we see the Thriller Dance tonight? Wolyniec did score on Wednesday. He could make it happen.

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78th minute– I haven't seen a thing tonight to make me believe that Carlos Johnson is better than Jeremy Hall.

Kandji with a nice pass but Angel misses it.

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76th minute– Carlos Johnson just got a yellow card for a foul on Todd Dunivant. Not sure if it's a yellow. When Johnson saw the card he said, "I didn't know they came in that color."

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74th minute– Bryan Jordan coming on for Chris Klein.

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71st minute– Looks like Rojas has been deployed on the left flank, so it's a 4-4-2 instead of a 3-5-2.

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70th minute– Conway off his line to clear a dangerous ball away.

The Red Bulls HAVE GOT TO get the ball to Kandji in space so he can run at Berhalter and Gonzalez.

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69th minute– Seth Stammler will have the task of shadowing Landon Donovan.

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68th minute– Red Bulls fans can say it together, "Kandji should have STARTED at forward."

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67th minute– Not a position-for-position switch. You will see Kandji move up top and Borman move to left wing.

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66th minute– Borman comes on for Pacheco, who had another weak game. Goldthwaite should move to left back in a 3-5-2.

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65th minute– Angel wtih a dangerous ball to the front of goal, but then he realized the Red Bulls are playing a 4-5-1 so there wasn't going to be anybody there.

Red Bulls pressing.

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64th minute– Carlos Johnson hasn't shown me much of anything tonight. Apparently the most exciting aspect of his game is his ability to draw red cards.

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63rd minute– When Kandji is dribbling 100 yards from goal something is wrong.

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62nd minute– Celades showing some class already with some nice moves and touches, which are only magnified more by the stagnant look of the rest of the Red Bulls attack.

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61st minute– Berhalter just had a tooth knocked out by Angel. He showed it to him, Angel said "so?" Classic.

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59th minute– Will we see Borman for Mendes? Maybe not yet, but if there isn't an equalizer by the 75th minute Osorio will have to think about it. 

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58th minute– Celades comes in for Ubiparipovic, who delivered another weak performance.

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57th minute– Albert Celades is coming into the match. (Hallelujah can be heard from Nevada Smith's)

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56th minute– Someone asked if this game is worse than the Houston 0-0 tie a few weeks back. It's actually not, but only because LA has created a bit more than the Dynamo did that night.

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54th minute– Kandji with another terrible cross attempt. He's just not comfortable on the flank. It should also be noted that he's matched up with Sean Franklin, LA's best defender.

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53rd minute– Donovan wastes a great chance set up by Sean Franklin.

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53rd minute– When Angel is dropping to the midfield stripe to get the ball there's something wrong.

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52nd minute– Has anybody seen Sinisa Ubiparipovic?  Oh, there he is, losing the ball.

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48th minute– The Galaxy come out with much more energy after halftime. The Red Bulls are sleepwalking.

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46th minute–  And we're back. No subs.

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HALFTIME– So what about the Galaxy? They have tried to string passes together but I see an old team that is just a step slow. Donovan is a great catalyst, but relying on a midfield of Lewis-Kovalenko-Klein is tough. Has anybody seen Edson Buddle tonight? I heard he was playing. The back-line has been steady, but that has been due partly to the Red Bulls midfield creating zero good chances for Juan Pablo Angel. 

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HALFTIME– Galaxy 1, Red Bulls 0.

So what's going on with the Red Bulls? Kandji and Richards just aren't getting it done and I think this might be the match that finally tells Osorio he needs to give up on the 4-2-3-1/4-3-3. Kandji and Richards just aren't getting it done on the flanks. I see the desire for two holding midfielders when on the road, but who in LA's central midfield are you worried about?  Kovalenko? Tudela?

Osorio should replace Ubiparipovic and Mendes with Borman and Celades. Yes, Celades is on the bench and this game is crying out for his creativity.

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46th minute– just one minute of stoppage. THANKFULLY.

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45th minute– Red Bulls attack just isn't stringing things together. Osorio needs to strongly consider switching to a 3-5-2 at halftime. A move to a 4-4-2 would help as well, with Borman coming on for Ubiparipovic and Kandji moving up top.

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43rd minute– Red Bulls with a free kick on the right flank.

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40th minute– Was the PK call a far one? It's a fair call because Stammler had his right arm raised. He's got to know that he must keep his arms down in the area.

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39th minute- GOAL GALAXY!!! Donovan slots it into the low right corner and the Galaxy lead. That was the only way a goal was going to happen in this half. Conway's way too slow even though he guessed right. Perfectly-placed penalty.

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39th minute- PENALTY!!  Donovan hits a shot and it hits Stammler in the arm. LA gets a PK.

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36th minute– Trying to decide what level of youth soccer this game reminds me of. U-12?, U-9?

Rojas with a chance and nearly catches Ricketts off his line, but the chip goes wide.

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33rd minute– This match is the front-runner for Worst MLS Match of the Day.

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31st minute– SAVE CONWAY. Not the best shot from Klein, but a great pass from Kovalenko to set him up.

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29th minute– Here is the Red Bulls bench, for those wondering: Cepero, Borman, Celades, Petke, Wolyniec, Smith, Sassano.

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28th minute– Okay folks, this game has gotten really flat. Switch your drinks to coffee before we all fall asleep.

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26th minute– Game has gone a bit flat.

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23rd minute– Ricketts with a diving save on a Goldthwaite shot. Great corner kick from Rojas.

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22nd minute– Red Bulls corner goes out of bounds, another Red Bulls corner now.

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20th minute– The Red Bulls are looking a bit wobbly in the back these past few minutes.

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18th minute– Ubiparipovic looks for a through-pass to Kandji that is picked off and leads to an LA counter attack. LA with a corner now.

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16th minute– The kick goes out of bounds but LA had a few players running wide open in the area. The Red Bulls need to do a better job of marking on set pieces. Wasn't that a problem vs. LA last year?

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15th minute– LA with a dangerous free kick after Stammler took out Kovalenko with a crunching challenge.

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14th minute– Pacheco with a decent look at goal but Ricketts handles the shot easily.

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14th minute– Yes, Johnson is wearing red shoes. he's really asking for it.

In all seriousness though, Johnson deserves credit for having a sense of humor. He autographed a red card for a fan after last week's DC match.

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13th minute– The morning line on a Carlos Johnson red card: 3/1. Betting windows are closed.

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12th minute– The free kick hit Dema Kovalenko in the face. I know, what else would you expect?

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10th minute– Red Bulls free kick after Berhalter takes down Richards. Rojas danger zone, but it hits the wall and goes out.

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9th minute– Interesting to see Todd Dunivant starting at left back for the Galaxy. I remember Bruce Arena once telling me he thought Dunivant was one of the top 12 left backs in MLS (there were 12 teams in the league at the time.)

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8th minute– Let's start with a few drinking games. Dema Kovalenko fouls, Bruce Arena waiving his arms at the referee and Juan Carlos Osorio writing notes in his notepad. All three mean drinks for everybody.

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7th minute– In fact, this is as close to the Red Bulls' first-choice starting XI as they've fielded all season. The only projected starter missing right now is Albert Celades, who would start over Sinisa Ubiparipovic if he were healthy.

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6th minute– It should be noted that this is the first time all season Osorio has had what he considers his first-choice back-line of Pacheco-Goldthwaite-Mendes-Johnson starting together.

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5th minute– Red Bulls fans wondering about the lineup and formation should know that Juan Carlos Osorio considers this group more of a 4-3-3 than a 4-5-1. We'll see how far forward Kandji and Richards get.

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3rd minute– Here is the Galaxy's lineup:

————-Donovan——–Buddle————–

Lewis—————-Kovalenko————Klein

————————Tudela——————–

Dunivant—–Berhalter—-Gonzalez—–Franklin

———————–Ricketts———————

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2nd minute– We are under way.

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PRE-GAME– Here is the Red Bulls lineup:

——————–Angel—————-

—-Kandji———————Richards

———————-Rojas—————

————Stammler—-Ubiparipovic-

Pacheco–Goldthwaite–Mendes-Johnson

———————Conway—————-

Comments

  1. This might be a little premature, but I’d also like to see Makalele get a job offer about the head coach position. He was amazing tactically that he had a great career, despite being average technically and physically. I’ve read some interviews where he talks tactics, and I’m sure he can communicate his understanding of the game to others.

    Reply
  2. I hate turnover, but I think Osorio has to go. I’d really like to see Richie Williams get the head coaching job for at least the rest of the season. The team looked really good the handful of games he was in charge.

    Reply
  3. Can’t wait to see that punch. Can’t wait to see soccer. Oh? That’s what I’m watching? No, I don’t believe y- oh, no, wait, I see it now.

    Reply
  4. Celades is warming up… but I really hope Osorio is also planning on bringing in a left mid and pushing Kandji up. It’s so blatantly obvious that Kandji is not nearly as effective on the wing.

    Reply
  5. So is this even more of a snoozer than the DCU-Houston game? Because it sure sounds like it.

    Shame. I thought for sure we had the honor of Most Boring Game of the Year in the bag after that one. But this just sounds painful for any fan of any team, league, or sports in general. Even golfers could be bored by a game like this or the aforementioned DC-Houston game.

    Reply
  6. Well, Ricky looked like he was doing a little better in the 2nd…right till the dying seconds when he walked into a huge Pacquiao left hand and got knocked the f— to Labor Day. Laid out, completely out. Fight over – Pacman just destroyed him.

    Reply
  7. Hope I’m not spoiling things for anyone.

    Hatton knocked down TWICE in the 1st, and barely, barely survived the round. Shouldn’t be a long one.

    Reply
  8. —-Kandji————Angel—-

    Borman——————-Richards

    ———Celadas—-Stammler—-

    Pacheco—-Goldy—Mendes–Johnson

    —————-Conway———-

    With celadas the more offensive of two, or if celdas isn’t good to go than

    —-Kandji————Angel—-

    Borman——-Ubi——-Richards

    ———–Stammler———–

    Pacheco—-Goldy—Mendes–Johnson

    ————Conway———-

    Reply
  9. Ives @ 36 minutes:

    Excuse me, Ives, but my daughter’s U12 game this morning was MUCH more entertaining than that first half.

    Reply
  10. Duh, I forgot about Borman. Good call Ives. I think your subs are the way to go. Really, Borman and Celades for Mendes and Ubi seems like the obvious way to kickstart the team. Now, to be fair, Osorio did make the right changes at halftime last week. Let’s see if he can do it again…

    Reply
  11. so far at the half i can already see that ubi is being cuaght out of position because he is pushing up to much, he is a natural attacking mid but osorio is trying to pair him at d mid with stammler, kandji is playing left mid and if you remeber against seattle he played on the wing and was largly unaffactive. Like Ubi he is being forced to come back to much although he wants to be up farther. Everyone else seems to be holding their own. Those are the two tactical errors i’ve spotted commited by osorio so far.

    Another thing i’ve noticed, not a coaching error, but we are far to eager to play the long ball, besides rojas and ubi no one has really attempted to play on the ground, i’ve seen so many little give and goes we could make but it’s like we want to gain as much land as possible as quick as possible.

    Reply
  12. I said it once and I will say it again, Kandji is of no use out wide. Osorio needs to play him up front where he can run at defenders. Right now he is playing as a left midfielder and a poor one at that. He also has no chemistry with Pacheco. At least 4 times Pacheco passed him the ball and made a overlapping run only to stop short when he realized Kandji had pinged the ball inside.

    Pull ubi, put kandji up front, and put borman on the left

    Reply
  13. This really needs to be the last time Kandji plays left mid. Not that he’s playing that badly, but his passing/crossing leaves a lot to be desired and he’s just much more dangerous up front. Hall should really get a shot there, but Osorio would rather have a left footed joke there than a right footed soccer player. The other option is to find a way to reshuffle the back and push Pacheco up, but somehow I don’t see Osorio trying that either. I wonder if this would work:

    Kandji-Angel
    Rojas
    Pacheco-Celades-Stammler-Mbuta
    Goldy-Mendes-Johnson

    I don’t know. I just know that the fake 4-3-3 does not work.

    The Red Bulls have actually had some space in the middle tonight, but there’s just not enough movement to create anything. It’s like the USA-Czech game from ’06 when the Czechs just sat back and let the US play with the ball in midfield because they knew the US couldn’t create any chances unless it was on the counterattack.

    Reply
  14. Hatton in the ring. Pacquiao about to come down the aisle. Can’t see the point of going back to the borefest if this fight doesn’t stop quick.

    Reply
  15. Osorio changes players, but not tactics. That’s the a good indicator of a total martinet. I’m thinking he might have to go.

    Reply
  16. The LA announcer just called Bruce Arena “one of the great soccer minds in the world.” That made my night.

    Reply
  17. Really pitiful game. Osorio has to be very close to the hot seat. For a team with such a poor track record, very rarely have they looked this sorry so consistently.

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  18. I have the terrible LA announcers, but Joamiq, I agree with you and Shep. Osorio thinks he’s smarter than everyone.

    Reply
  19. I know this is probably just bothering me and no one else, but, why doesn’t HDC have those bench covers? I mean, it is, for now, our nations likely best SSS, and it just seems less impressive just having aluminum park bleacher benches there.

    Reply
  20. Deuce, I know you’re a fellow college kid like me, and thus likely poor, but the 20 bucks for the mlsnet feeds is totally worth it.

    Reply
  21. not sure why Kandji is being played on the wing. so far he has been unconvincing on the wing but solid up front. Why not give Borman a chance on the left

    Reply

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