Loss embodies difficult year for Red Bulls
New York hoping to finish season positively at home next week
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The match was scoreless and New York had maybe their best scoring chance of the match when Carlos Johnson received the ball 15 yards from goal and took a hard shot that RSL were able to knock down. Fifteen seconds later, Real were celebrating the game-winning goal.
And so has been the 2009 season for the New York Red Bulls: On the cusp of doing something great, things don't quite work out like it appeared they would.
"It's been like that all year," said New York midfielder Jeremy Hall. "We're pushing for a win and then they score."
History repeated itself yet again in the Red Bulls' final road match of the season as they dropped a 2-0 match to a Real Salt Lake team determined to take the full three points. The loss gave New York a few records no team wants to own: The Red Bulls went winless on the road this season, the third team in MLS history to perform that feat, and their two points on the road this season matches the all-time low in MLS (done also, coincidentally, by RSL in 2005).
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But for all their struggles this year, the most difficult part of the loss was that New York worked hard to keep the things level for almost 90 percent of the match, only to watch it slip away at the end.
"From the backs to the forwards I thought everyone worked very hard and competed," said Red Bulls head coach Richie Williams. "But it's hard to defend for 90 minutes. We couldn't hold on to the end of the game."
The first 80 minutes of the match were overall quite positive for New York, especially on the defensive end. The visitors showed a strong commitment to defense, and they demonstrated it early and often as they thwarted a high number of attacks and kept Salt Lake frustrated. In particular, New York showed an obvious understanding of how RSL likes to attack, and they made sure there were plenty of folks on hand in the penalty area to knock balls away.
"I thought we did well over the course of the game to limit their dangerous opportunities," said goalkeeper Danny Cepero. "And I thought the defenders did well to block shots and win head balls. We knew [Salt Lake] were going to bring the heat, and we knew it was important to bring guys back, and in general defend first."
The problem for New York was that "defend first" turned into "defend only," and with the sheer amount of possession and number of chances Real had, it was only a matter of time before they got on the board. The Red Bulls had trouble generating good opportunities all night: They took a mere three shots on the night, none of them on frame, making for an easy night for RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
"We need to have a little bit better attack," said Williams. "We need to string more passes together and keep the ball. You have to have more attempts on goal. That was our shortcoming tonight."
Part of New York's offensive struggles can be attributed to being shorthanded for the match, especially on the offensive end. With key attackers like John Wolyniec and especially Juan Pablo Angel not making the trip due to injury, New York had trouble getting into a rhythm offensively, not to mention that defending became a much easier task for Real Salt Lake without them.
"We were a little bit shorthanded," admitted Williams. "We put Dane [Richards] up there tonight, which isn't really his natural position. But whoever we put in, we just need to do better in the final third."
The Red Bulls wrap up a forgettable 2009 season at home next week and they are keen to go out on a high note. This will be their final match in Giants Stadium as they will christen their new Red Bull Arena on opening weekend in 2010, and the players want to make sure they have something positive they can build on as they start next year's campaign.
"We're trying to improve each game," said Hall. "We have one game left to hopefully leave our fans with a win going into next season and our new stadium."
Jeremy Horton is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
