Photo by ISIPhotos.com
The New York Red Bulls have made the trip down I-95 to take on D.C. United in the Eastern Conference playoff semifinals, which kick off tonight in first-leg action at RFK Stadium (8pm, NBC Sports).
D.C. United enters tonight’s match on a seven-match unbeaten streak, riding a strong defense and the attacking efforts of Chris Pontius, Branko Boskovic and Nick DeLeon to a strong finish despite losing reigning MLS MVP Dwayne DeRosario for the rest of the regular season with an injury.
The Red Bulls enter having posted consecutive shutouts to finish the season, with Hans Backe settling on a new back four of Heath Pearce, Rafa Marquez, Markus Holgersson and Connor Lade. That quartet will have the task of trying to contain Pontius, who scored five goals in three matches against the Red Bulls this season.
Backe has decided to bench forward Kenny Cooper despite Cooper coming off a two-goal effort against Philadelphia, and an 18-goal regular season. Sebastien LeToux gets the call up top alongside Thierry Henry.
SBI will be providing live commentary on tonight’s match so please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):