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New York Red Bulls at Seattle Sounders: Match Night Commentary

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The New York Red Bulls are in Seattle tonight to take on the Sounders in a battle of 1-0 teams.

The Sounders opened their season with a comprehensive 2-0 victory vs. the Philadelphia Union, while the Red Bulls opened with a strong showing in a 1-0 victory vs. the Chicago Fire.

There will be plenty of important individual battles, from Juan Pablo Angel vs. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, to Jeremy Hall vs. Steve Zakuani, to Joel Lindpere vs. Osvaldo Alonso.

I will be providing commentary on tonight's match throughout the evening so please feel free to follow the match here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions below.

Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):

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FINAL- That's all for me. Thanks for following along tonight. Feel free to share your thoughts on tonight's match in the comments section below.

Good night.

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FINAL– So who stood out tonight for New York? There were plenty of strong performances, but Tim Ream and Mike Petke were stellar in central midfield, while Joel Lindpere, Seth Stammler and Sinisa Ubiparipovic all put in an incredible amount of work tonight.

For Seattle, it is pretty clear that the Sounders need another forward up top with Freddy Montero. They need Freddie Ljungberg in a more central role. Not having Nate Jaqua until next month will hurt, but I will say that it's scary to think what will happen when Blaise Nkufo arrives. That's why I still think the Sounders can be considered an MLS Cup contender.

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FINAL– it should be pointed out that the Red Bulls last MLS road wins came in the 2008 MLS playoffs, wins in Houston and Real Salt Lake.

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FINAL– The Red Bulls defense starts the 2010 season with two shutouts and two victories. Now the team that finished with the worst record in MLS stands in first place in the Eastern Conference. Yes, it's just week two, but it's pretty clear we are talking about a much improved New York Red Bulls squad.

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FINAL– Red Bulls 1, Sounders 0. Wow, I had a feeling New York would play well tonight, but I'm not sure who could have imagined them playing this well.

Mac Kandji's finish provides the difference as New York delivers a big upset.

Seattle played some great soccer tonight, but once again it's the finishing that hurts Sigi Schmid's men. 

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94th minute– Noonan with a glance header wide.

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93rd minute– Conor Chinn is in for Kandji. Yes, he's the Star Kick kid, making his MLS debut.

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92nd minute– Four minutes of stoppage time. Will we any subs for NY?

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91st minute– Coundoul catches the Seattle corner.

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90th Minute– Sounders on the charge.

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89th Minute– Stammler heads away a Ljungberg long free kick.

Coundoul to take a goal kick with a minute left.

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88th Minute– Keller blasts a long kick out of bounds. Clock is ticking.

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87th Minute– Ljungberg's free kick hits Borman in the chest.

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87th Minute– Borman fouls Estrada on the right flank, dangerous free kick for Seattle.

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86th Minute– Another unforced turnover by Seattle and Ljungberg is livid.

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85th Minute– Sounders in a 3-4-3 now, with Montero and Nyassi pushing forward with Noonan.

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83rd Minute– David Estrada comes in for Leo Gonzalez, Seattle putting in an attacking player for a defender.

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82nd Minute– Nice play from Petke to cut off a Sounders attack in the area. Lindpere fouled Noonan before that but advantage was played.

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81st Minute– Coundoul recovers after initially spilling a Ljungberg free kick.

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80th Minute– Richards WIDE, wastes a great chance after Borman serves a perfect cross in.

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79th Minute– Danleigh Borman is coming in for Ubiparipovic, who had an excellent night.

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77th Minute– Ljungberg goes wide with a header from right in front of goal. A great ball in from Noonan, but Ljungberg can't get the header on frame.

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75th Minute– Solid night for Roy Miller at left back.

Sanna Nyassi comes in for Steve Zakuani. Speed for Speed.

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74th Minute– This game has been played at such a fast pace you wonder if New York can keep this going. Richie Williams might want to consider some subs soon.

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73rd Minute– Marshall with a free header on the back-post but he sends it wide. Whoa, Red Bulls dodged one there.

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71st Minute– 36,066 is the attendance tonight at Qwest Field. Great crowd tonight.

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70th Minute– Sounders with 10 corner kicks tonight. They haven't done much with those tonight, which they may regret.

Seattle's on the attack again, looking energized.

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69th Minute– SAVE COUNDOUL!! Stops a Zakuani shot after a great run by Zakuani. Red Bulls dodge a bullet.

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67th Minute– Miller does well to block a nice shot from Noonan in the area. Good move from Noonan to get himself into that position.

Lindpere with some good defensive work. Great performance by him tonight helping on the defensive end.

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66th Minute– alonso does well to take the ball away from Kandji, leading to a Seattle counter. Red Bulls do well to recover.

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63rd Minute– Ubiparipovic slips a ball past Riley and draws a foul and yellow for Riley.

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62nd Minute– Kandji carded for a foul on Leo Gonzalez.

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61st Minute– The Red Bulls are buzzing around right now, doing well to match Seattle's energy.

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60th Minute– Montero starting to get more involved. He hasn't been good enough tonight.

Zakuani fouls Hall.

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58th Minute– The free kick hits the wall.

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57th Minute– Tim Ream stops a Ljungberg run into the area.

Alonso draws a foul from Richards for a Sounders free kick.

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56th Minute– Ubiparipovic is having a very good game tonight. Been very impressed with his touches tonight.

Pat Noonan comes in for Roger Levesque.

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55th Minute– Seattle has come out a bit sloppy this half. Red Bulls look good early.

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53rd Minute– SAVE KELLER!!! Stops an Angel shot off a great Red Bulls sequence.

Red Bulls corner.

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52nd Minute– Ljungberg just took a foul, then tried to kick the free kick off a Red Bull and missed.

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50th Minute– Coundoul smothers a hard cross in from Zakuani.

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49th Minute– Hurtado with a nice play on Kandji to keep the ball away from him.

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48th Minute– If you're following our commentary please let me know in the comments section, and let me know where you're following from.

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47th Minute– Seattle starts with a nice sequence that ends with a pass too long for Zakuani.

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46th Minute– And we're back.

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HALFTIME– So how are the Red Bulls leading? Petke and Ream have been rock solid, while Joel Lindpere and Seth Stammler have provided invaluable support. Seattle has had some opportunities, but haven't been able to win any challenges in the area.

Ubiparipovic and Richards have done well on the wings for New York, keeping possession well and putting some pressure on Seattle's defense.

For the Sounders, Zakuani was the team's most dangerous player, but hasn't gotten enough support from Evans or Ljungberg. 

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HALFTIME– Red Bulls 1, Sounders 0. Some great, great soccer, neither team sitting back. The Sounders have attacked in waves, but New York's defense has held up against the pressure. Mac Kandji's goal is the difference right now. 

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47th Minute– This half is almost over as Red Bulls turn it over.

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46th Minute– Two minutes of stoppage time.

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45th Minute– A Marshall turnover nearly leads to danger, but Seattle deals with it.

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44th Minute– Juan Pablo Angel has been quiet tonight. Kandji has been much more involved.

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44th Minute– Alonso rushes a shot at the top of the box and skies it high.

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42nd Minute– Tim Ream has been so vital to helping New York deal with Seattle's pressure. His passing ability and composure on the ball is impressive.

Sounders earn another corner.

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40th Minute– Sounders corner after Hall heads away a dangerous cross.

Quick Sounders corner is cleared.

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39th Minute– I think it took Petke a minute before he figured out he got that yellow for dissent. The way this game is going, that yellow could wind up proving very costly.

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38th Minute– Keller with an easy save on a soft Ubiparipovic shot. Better possession from New York.

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36th Minute– Petke just talked himself into a yellow card. Tough challenge on Montero, but Stott only reached for the yellow after Petke yapped about the foul call.

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35th Minute– Ljungberg's corner curls out of play.

Tim Ream taking the goal kicks for Coundoul. Is Coundoul hurt?

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34th Minute– Sounders corner kick after a Montero shot hits Ream in the chest.

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33rd Minute– SAVE KELLER! Stops a Kandji shot from the left side of the area. Kandji probably should have laid it off to Angel.

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31st Minute– Some good back and forth between both sides. Game has hit a nice balance.

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28th Minute– Red Bulls finally getting a chance to breath a little. Seattle's attack had been smothering them.

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27th Minute– Sounders in complete control since the goal. Red Bulls withstand the pressure.

Kandji races forward, earning a corner.

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25th Minute– Seattle putting the pressure on and New York is the Red Bulls barely knock a ball out of bounds that was almost in the net. Sounders corner.

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24th Minute– Seattle settles down and is knocking it around.

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22nd Minute– Red Bulls lead and now Seattle will look to force the issue. The goal had come during a good spell for Seattle. Can the Sounders keep it going?

SAVE COUNDOUL!! Stops a Zakuani blast.

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21st Minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!!! Mac Kandi with the finish off a Lindpere corner kick.

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20th Minute– Great tackle by Ream to stop a Sounders break.

Red Bulls corner. Gonzalez does well to recover after Richards races by him, allowing a corner.

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19th Minute– Sounders pressing hard the past few minutes here.

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18th Minute– Sounders with another corner kick.

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17th Minute– Zakuani beats Hall again, forcing a corner.

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16th Minute– Some great battling in midfield for both sides. Stammler and Alonso have both been covering tons of space early.

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14th Minute– Some great early action from both teams. Far from a boring match so far.

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13th Minute– Sounders pressing again, but a ghosting ball flies across the Red Bulls goalmouth, but nobody is there for Seattle.

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12th Minute– SAVE COUNDOUL, stops a long-range blast from Alonso after Seattle countered following the NY free kick.

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11th Minute– Red Bulls draw a free kick as Marshall fouled Kandji. New York looks good early.

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10th Minute– Ljungberg with a yellow card for a late studs-up challenge on Petke.

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9th Minute– Ubiparipovic's touch has let him down a few times early, nearly leading to a Sounders break.

Ljungberg's passing eye is there tonight, though his tough is a bit off.

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8th Minute– Great play by Kandji to save a ball and dishing off a pass, but Seattle covers it up.

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7nd Minute– Stammler doing a good job of dropping back to help squeeze the Sounders forwards.

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6th Minute– Whoa, Lindpere with a good look but his shot is just high.

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5th Minute– Sounders with a dangerous sequence, but Montero's shot is blocked.

SAVE COUNDOUL, stops a hard Evans shot.

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4th Minute– Tim ream is very good on the ball but he needs to be careful not to get too casual. Seattle's forwards are crafty enough to make him pay for any mistakes.

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3rd Minute– Hall with a great ball in the area. Seattle clears, but promising stuff from New York early.

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2nd Minute– Alonso does well to track back and break up a Red Bulls possession.

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1st Minute– And we're off.

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PRE-GAME– Wow, New York has gone 27 matches without a road win. That's regular season matches. Maybe I should change my prediction of a tie. Maybe not.

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PRE-GAME– Kevi Stott is the ref tonight, so expect a tightly-called match.

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PRE-GAME– Another lively crowd at Qwest Field for tonight's match. The first 20 minutes will be key for the Red Bulls in being able to withstand what should be a fast start for the Sounders.

It will be interesting to see if Ljungberg is at all limited by the back injured he was reportedly dealing with this week.

It will also be interesting to see what kind of pressure Angel and Kandji can put on Seattle's back four.

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PRE-GAME– Seattle fans will be happy to hear that forward Blaise Nkufo scored the winner today for FC Twente today. Nkufo will join the Sounders this summer.

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PRE-GAME– Newly-acquired midfielder/forward Pat Noonan is in uniform, but on the bench for Seattle.

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PRE-GAME– Some of the better match-ups to watch tonight include Juan Pablo Angel vs. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Steve Zakuani vs. Jeremy Hall and Tim Ream vs. Freddie Ljungberg (Assuming Ream gets the assignment).

Seattle will look to feed the ball to Ljungberg, who is going to cause problems for New York's defense with his mobility. Whether it's Tim Ream or Mike Petke, or even Seth Stammler, the Red Bulls defense will need to keep tight tabs on Ljungberg.

For New York, the key is using Lindpere to feed the forwards, as well as having Dane Richards pressure the right flank, and Seattle fullback Leo Gonzalez.

The Joel Lindpere-Osvaldo Alonso match-up could be the most important match-up of the night.

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PRE-GAME– The good news for the Sounders is Freddie Ljungberg is healthy enough to start. I'm sure folks in Philly will say he was never really that hurt, but whatever the case may be, Ljungberg will be key to the Sounders attack.

Seth Stammler is healthy and in the lineup for the Red Bulls, playing in place of injured midfielder Carl Robinson.

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PRE-GAME– Here are tonight's lineups:

SOUNDERS

———-Montero———Ljungberg————

Zakuani————–Evans————-Levesque

———————Alonso————————

Gonzalez—-Hurtado—-Marshall———-Riley

———————Keller————————-

RED BULLS

————–Angel———–Kandji————-

Ubiparipovic——-Lindpere————-Richards

———————Stammler———————-

Miller——-Ream————Petke———–Hall

———————Coundoul———————-

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PRE-GAME– New York head coach Hans Backe is not with the team. He stayed at the team hotel with stomach pains.

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Comments

  1. Dude… the both teams were being physical. I thought the ref let a lot fouls go, on both sides.

    I’m sorry but your post makes you sound like a sore loser. I’m not saying you are, but your post gives me that impression.

    It was a close game and NY was able to put one away while the Sounder couldn’t. Tough loss for you guys, great victory for us. Let’s leave it at that.

    Reply
  2. http://www.examiner.com/ExaminerSlideshow.html?entryid=1144389&slide=10

    Picture of Roy Miller choking out Noonan. I hope the league will look at this and hand him a suspension. Dirty filthy disgusting play.

    A very big weakness of Seattle as some of you have pointed out is that they do not have a good free kick taker/specialist and they often show a lot of disorganization on freekicks. This is partly the responsiblity of the coach/gm to get it sorted and it really hurts Seattle more than any other team not to have such a player because they are by far and away the most fouled team in the league.

    Reply
  3. NY showed an excellent commitment to the hackahackahacka technique tonight. Unfortunately the referee refused to gain control of this match (by issuing cards for all the deliberate NY fouls) and pretty much let them hack away at will, for the most part killing a lot of Seattle’s rhythm trying to push the ball forward offensively. The hand around the neck and choke by Miller of one Seattle player was simply disgusting and the fact that the linesman was pretty much looking right at it and refused to call it was telling of the competency of the officiating in the MLS.

    The NY goalie I thought looked quite good – he seemed to have good positioning for the most part and be quite agile going up for high balls. NY looked so much better than last years squad and definitely had their chance to score more than 1 goal if not some pretty amazing saves from Kasey Keller.

    Seattle really misses the presence of Sebastian LeToux and it will eternally remain a mystery why they did not protect him in the expansion draft. Freddie L probably should have been subbed out in the 2nd half – it was clear he was playing injured and I thought Montero sort of gave up after getting fouled so many times.

    Reply
  4. Great game! Awesome pace to it! For a second, with the croud and pace of it, I forgot I was watching MlS. These two teams are the class of the league. That is saying alot considering how bad NY was last year. I think Seattle showed their class after a really tough loss at home, noone blamed anyone or anything(unlike Philly) and they all shook hands after the game. Truely a classy team, Seattle! Let’s go Redbulls! and get well soon Backe!

    Reply
  5. Sounders could run up another 400 minute scoreless streak at home. Management and Sigi have done nothing to improve finishing, unless Nkufo can score from Holland.

    Reply
  6. The NYRB’s played a heck of a game last night. I was very impressed. They played a smart game, played defense very well, and their midfield looked really good at times. I think if they upgraded the right midfielder from Richards to a DP type player they could be quite a surprise this year. Hats off to the new coach, he has them organized and playing an entertaining brand of soccer. I like that Miller kid and that one forward Kyoto (?) who looks like a poor man’s Drogba. He played well too. Kudo’s to the RBs

    Reply
  7. I hope you are right Ives and you make a good point about moving Ljundberg back to midfield, with which I strongly agree is needed. But I fear our problems run deeper than that and you give us too much credit for what I thought was not a good performance.

    (SBI-I’ll check it out.)

    Reply
  8. Ives, I don’t know how you can still think the Sounders are Cup contenders after last nights game. At home, they could not really threaten. Condoul had some nice saves, but those were textbook, not miracles. We (the Sounders) are in for a frustrating season if we can’t start putting passess together which I don’t expect we will given our player limitations. Everyone thinks Nfuko will turn things around but what is he going to do for our struggling midfield?

    Anyway, congrats on the win. The NYRB played very disciplined defense after taking a well-deserved goal.

    (SBI-I’s pretty simple. Once you have Nkufo up top, you can put Ljungberg in central midfield, where he can be more dangerous, and put Brad Evans wide right, where he can be a bigger factor than centrally. With Zakuani looking miles better than last year, and Alonso looking as good as last year, these changes can be just enough.

    Give New York some credit, they played about as good a game as anybody could ask, and still eked out a 1-0 win. Seattle actually played very well but it’s clear they need that striker, not just to shift things around, but also to take advantage of all the set pieces that were drawn.)

    Reply
  9. I was driving I-80 between Reno and Elko, Nevada and hitting refresh on this post on my smartphone all night. Thanks Ives.

    Reply
  10. By far, one of the best MLS games I have watched in very long time. Both teams were impressive and hungry to win. The pace, intensity, drive, skill, etc, shown by both sides is not very common in MLS games and I think that this is going to be a great season.

    HC

    Reply
  11. All,…please do not dredge up the bitter past of Metros/Red Bulls and ruin my 2010 Red Bull vibe! I am looking forward. Red Bull Arena, Hans Backe, a healthy JPA, Jeremy Hall, Tim Ream, etc., etc.

    Very nice win over Seattle Sounders! See you April 17th,…

    Reply
  12. Freelancer – I wast at RBA. There were not many empty seats after the 1st 15 minutes. Transport issues, both train & road, made for late arrivals. I realize that Seattle thinks it invented the game, but beleive it or not, some of us outside of Seattle, have been going to games consistely since the league’s inception.

    (And that isn’t a knock on the fine city of Seattle but rather a knock on some Seattle fans who think the league began with their arrival.)

    Reply
  13. I don’t know what’s better:

    RBNY being 2-0 with no goals allowed OR

    DC being 0-2 with SIX goals allowed & none scored!

    ST. Louis United, baby!

    Reply
  14. Yes, I still think he’s a terrible coach, but ,that said, you’re right. I did promise to drop it once his terrible signings left, so I retract my comments & wish both you,JCO and his dog Easter!

    (I was just caught up in the moment, baby!)

    Reply
  15. First time shot has to do with how many touches you’ve taken before the shot on that play, not how many touches you’ve taken in the game prior to the shot.

    Reply
  16. Great game tonight I am still stunned at the pace and the intensity we see from Seattle and how NYRB counteracted as well as they did. Also hoping you guys post Herculez game-tying goal tonight I happened to catch the apertura highlights on one of the fabled mexican channels here probably Gala. Great one-time finish on his left foot in the box far post. Ives, like you posted a few days ago he just wants to keep showing his good form and take it with him. Another goal right off the bench tonight was solid for Herc.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfzU9MzFH0M

    Reply
  17. Ives,

    I followed the commentary from CT. Thanks for doing it. Very happy with the result. Great team effort. Hope Backe feels better soon.

    Reply
  18. freelancer, RBA had a fantastic crowd–watch the whole match. It was seriously fantastic. It’s currently above Chicago and Houston but below Toronto and Seattle–and I think it’ll rise a ton

    And Ives, to what you said to Smith…to be fair, Osorio was complete crap. Just saying

    (SBI-Osorio had a terrible 2009 with New York, there’s no denying it, but Smith has beaten that dead horse over and over and over. It’s an on-going thing with him that I’ve addressed with him. Just seems pointless to keep bringing it up.)

    Reply
  19. Noonan was impressive. How did Brad Evans get a call up? NY was strong through the center. Freddy M got nothing into his feet. Freddy L could only receive the ball on the flanks. I didn’t see many dives but I did see a ton of fouls. The key to beating Seattle: don’t let either Freddy turn with the ball (i.e. foul them) Seattle is impotent on set plays.

    Reply

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