The Mourning After

On this rather torrid tuesday, I should begin by giving my congratulation to DC United; this will be the first and last time that I complement them. My first inquiry of the day goes to my New York Red Bulls, where, I ask; "what were you doing, what were you thinking, and why on earth is Roy Miller ending the game?" This game, in short, was little more then a brawl, one that sought to drag every player, coach, and fan into the struggle taking place over 90 minutes in Harrison, New Jersey. From a brace of red cards to missed penalties, accompanied by a steady supply of crunching tackles, this game was heartbreaking to watch and even harder to bare.

The game supplied very little statistical surprise for the first 88 minutes of the game, where New York dominated possession, seeing 54.4% of the ball. The Red Bulls moved the ball around the field with a purpose, with passing accuracy at 82% and the majority of these passes happening within DC United's half of the field. Particular marks goes to Dax McCarty and Tim Cahill, who put in incredible performances for the midfield with, 31 and 33 completed passes respectively. Not surprisingly, Teemu Tainio was the true midfield maestro who supplied 54 passes to the team. The Red Bulls were able to control the vast majority of the game, making the DC United players chase ghosts throughout the game. However, the game is not won based off of the amount of possession any given team has, its won by testing the keeper and peppering the net with accurate shots, in the hope that at least one goes in. 

"You dont score if you dont shoot," a motto that New York took to heart on that night where, they outshot their opponents by 10 and totaled their attempts on goal with 18. Needless to say, New York did not make it easy for the DC goalkeepers, Bill Hamid and the Joe Willis, where 6 shots were on target and another 5 where blocked by United's defense. The majority of New York's chances came off of the boots of, no-big-surprise Thierry Henry and unlikely shooter, Dax McCarty. Henry was able to get off 4 shots on frame, 3 of them getting blocked by United's defenders, a testament to their defenders recognizing the need to keep Henry's chances minimal. Dax took it upon himself to try and edge the Red Bulls ahead by totaling 5 attempts on net with one of the best chances producing one of the best saves of the night, right on Bill Hamid's doorstep.

Despite all of the scintillating play from both teams, the viewers witnessed a heated arena, as tensions from both teams culminated in shouting matches, rough tackles, and the eventual carding of offenders. Consistant as ever with the rest of his lackluster and un-passioned performances, Rafa Marquez did what he does best last thursday, causing trouble and getting unnecessary cards. Surprisingly late, the first card of the game came in the 61st minute when, Rafa cordially rammed his fist into Chris Pontius' face. Don't worry people, Rafa refuses to disappoint after another foolish effort for the ball, gaining himself a red card in the 75th minute, and giving New York one less player on the field. Despite all of his efforts, from the save on McCarty's shot to the 5 others he had to deal with, Bill Hamid was having a grand performance until he sent Kenny Cooper flying to the ground inside his penalty area, giving the Red Bulls a penalty. His senses showed themselves out the back door as his reaction to the penalty/ red card decision brought him all around the pitch, yelling, screaming and in one word, looking childish; check out his reaction. 

In conclusion, the game ended representative of the entirety of the season; coming up short in games, not blossoming into true potential, and having numerous questions about the team and those that run it. Marquez causes trouble, Joel looks lost, Henry is too good, lets set the record for goalkeeper injuries and when will Hans Backe produce a title; these questions and more have been on the mind of Red Bull fans for the past 3 seasons now. The answer to these concerns have not been answered and only continue to agitate the teams chances of winning an MLS Cup. Throughout the season the team was fragile in defense with only the imposing forces of Marcus Holgersson and eventually, Heath Pearce, to pick up the pieces of our shattered defense. Goalkeeping, was an issue throughout the season, where it was essentially being divided up between 3 keepers, Bill Gaudette, Ryan Meara, and Luis Robles. This only added to the inconsistency in an already unstable defense. Hans Backe, New York's coach for the past few seasons, has finally, after seasons of unanswered promises, been fired. Ending the Red Bull's season with the bitterest of tastes and like typical sunday mornings in college, leaves us to walk the cold road home, pondering what could have been, questioning where it went wrong, and ultimately regretting what actually happened.