Red Bulls look to clinch vs. RSL
NEW YORK RED BULLS v REAL SALT LAKE
GIANTS STADIUM, E. Rutherford, N.J.
7:30 p.m. ET (FSC/FSE)
Sept. 29, 2007 (WEEK 26) / MLS Game #170
The New York Red Bulls remain home for a second consecutive week with a chance to secure their spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs as they take on Real Salt Lake at Giants Stadium. A Red Bulls victory, plus a Columbus Crew loss and the failure of the Colorado Rapids to win, and New York will have guaranteed a spot in the top eight of the MLS overall table. While Real Salt Lake is not yet eliminated, their task is much greater - nine points behind eighth-place Chicago Fire with four games left to play, a loss to the Red Bulls and a point from the Fire at Chivas USA, and they will miss out on the postseason for a third season.
REFEREE: Alex Prus. SAR (bench): Adam Wienckowski; JAR (opposite): George Vergara; 4th: Mark Geiger MLS Career: 119 games; FC/gm: 30.2; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 26; pens: 38 Games involving Red Bulls: P15 W7 L6 T2; FC/gm: 28.7; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 4; pens: 5 Games involving Real: P5 W2 L3 T0; FC/gm: 27.8; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 2; pens: 2
INJURY REPORT: NEW YORK RED BULLS - OUT: DF Kevin Goldthwaite (L knee injury); QUESTIONABLE: DF Carlos Mendes (L ankle injury); FW Mike Magee (R knee injury) ... REAL SALT LAKE - OUT: DF Nik Besagno (R knee surgery); MF Javier Morales (L torn labrum); QUESTIONABLE: FW Fabian Espíndola (R shin contusion), MF Atiba Harris (L ankle sprain), PROBABLE: MF Nathan Sturgis (L calf strain), FW Alecko Eskandarian (R hamstring strain)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: RSL: Kyle Beckerman, Atiba Harris
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: NY: Jozy Altidore, Kevin Goldthwaite, Dema Kovalenko, Joe Vide ... RSL: Jean-Martial Kipré, Ritchie Kotschau, Chris Lancos, Carey Talley, Chris Wingert
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (5 meetings): Red Bulls 1 win, 12 goals ... Real Salt Lake 0 wins, 6 goals ... Ties 4
AT GIANTS STADIUM (2 meetings): Red Bulls 1 win, 6 goals ... Real Salt Lake 0 wins, 0 goals ... Ties 1
• This is the second of two meetings between the clubs this season, the only one scheduled for Giants Stadium.
• A year ago, the teams played to a draw in Salt Lake City before the Red Bulls strolled to a 6-0 victory at the Meadowlands, the largest margin of victory and most goals ever scored in a game by New York and the heaviest defeat ever suffered by RSL.
• All three games in Salt Lake City have ended in draws; in fact, the N.Y. win in the second meeting last year was the first time in four encounters the teams did not play to a draw, including in Real's first-ever game, April 2, 2005 in New Jersey.
• Coaches record: Bruce Arena vs. RSL: P2 W1 L0 D1 ... Jason Kreis vs. NY: P1 W0 L0 D1
2007 (MLS):
5/5: RSL 3, NY 3 (Klein 61; Cunningham 90; C. Brown 92+ - Richards 12; Mathis 28, 83)
• In his coaching debut, Jason Kreis saw his new charges score a late goal as Real Salt Lake came back to claim a 3-3 draw with the Red Bulls on May 5 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
• Things didn't start out well for Kreis in his coaching debut, as the Red Bulls struck twice in the opening half-hour. First, Dave van den Bergh lofted a high ball over the RSL defense and Dane Richards outpaced his man to get onto the end of it, poking past Chris Seitz in the penalty area on the bounce (12). Then Clint Mathis scored for the first time against his former club, getting onto the end of another van den Bergh through ball and coolly slotting under Seitz to give New York a 2-0 lead after 28 minutes.
• Real finally became the first team to score on the Red Bulls on the season when they pulled a goal back in the 61st minute - and took a beauty. Chris Klein cut across the top of the penalty area from the right and cracked a curling left-footed shot that beat Ronald Waterreus high inside the far corner.
• But Mathis seemed to have completed the misery for his old friend Kreis in the 83th minute, again doubling the lead when he headed home a Dema Kovalenko cross from close range.
• Yet Real weren't done. Carey Talley took a bump from Red Bulls center back Jeff Parke in the area while jostling for a corner kick, and referee Ricardo Salazar pointed to the spot, where Jeff Cunningham converted.
• Then two minutes into stoppage time, it took another stunning strike from Real to tie the match. He chased down a long ball in the right side of the area, cut back around a defender to get an angle and ripped a rising drive high inside the far corner.
• Here's Arena's team (4-4-1-1): Ronald Waterreus (Jon Conway 72) - Hunter Freeman, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, Todd Dunivant - Dane Richards (Dema Kovalenko 80), Claudio Reyna, Seth Stammler, Dave van den Bergh - Clint Mathis - Jozy Altidore (John Wolyniec 86). Substitutes Not Used: Taylor Graham, Jerrod Laventure, Tim Regan, Sinisa Ubiparipovic
• Here's Kreis' team (4-3-1-2): Chris Seitz - Jack Stewart (Chris Brown 63), Eddie Pope, Daniel Torres, Willis Forko - Chris Klein, Carey Talley, Freddy Adu - Mehdi Ballouchy - Jeff Cunningham, Atiba Harris. Substitutes Not Used: Nikolas Besagno, Duke Hashimoto, Dustin Kirby, Chris Lancos, Nick Rimando, Jamie Watson
NEW YORK RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls saw their winless run extended to three games, but still came back to claim a single point, twice overcoming deficits on their way to a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Saturday evening at Giants Stadium. The Red Bulls have 38 points with four matches still to play, still in sixth place in the MLS overall place, now two points ahead of the Kansas City Wizards and two behind fifth-place FC Dallas.
LAST MATCH
• The regional rivals were meeting for the third time in three months with the Revolution having won the last five league meetings between the clubs. New England were already secure of a playoff spot, while the Red Bulls were fairly safe despite having won just once in their last five games.
• The Revolution took the lead in the 22nd minute. Steve Ralston bent in a free kick from well out on the right and Taylor Twellman rose up completely unmarked to head home from the top of the six.
• But the Red Bulls pulled level before halftime. Dane Richards worked himself free in the right corner and hooked in a low cross toward the near post where Francis Doe snuck a leg in front of his marker and turned the ball home, the first MLS goal for the Liberian (37).
• Twellman struck once again 20 minutes from the end. Latching onto a deflection off Red Bulls defender Chris Leitch, he brought the ball down before lashing a low shot inside the right-hand post of New York goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus.
• Yet New York fought back once again, through a familiar hero, in the 84th minute. A long ball out of the back was flicked on by Doe, and Juan Pablo Angel strolled in alone behind the Revolution back line before neatly side-footing home inside the right post for his 16th goal on the campaign, tying the club's single-season record.
• For the first time all season, Red Bulls manager Bruce Arena did not make any changes to his team, maintaining the same starting XI that played to a 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire the previous Saturday at Toyota Park.
• Here's Arena's team (4-4-2): Ronald Waterreus - Chris Leitch (Jozy Altidore 73), Jeff Parke, Seth Stammler, Dave van den Bergh - Dane Richards, Claudio Reyna, Joe Vide (Clint Mathis 72), Dema Kovalenko - Francis Doe, Juan Pablo Angel. Substitutes Not Used: Jon Conway, Hunter Freeman, Markus Schopp, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, John Wolyniec
• "Right now, our focus is to qualify for the playoffs -- we're not there yet, we have a way to go and we have to get better," Arena said. "The effort in Chicago last week and the effort this week was good. We can build on this."
TEAM NEWS
• It was the first time all season Arena ran out the same lineup he had in a previous match. After all the changes, having a consistent group could be a good sign for the Red Bulls coming down the stretch.
• "That is important but I think two games in a row doesn't do it unfortunately. It's just one of those odd years where we can't have the coordination to have everyone healthy at once. That's still part of the game, and there's nothing you can do about it, and we need to do the best we can," Arena said. "Over the next few weeks, we'll get healthier and we'll get some more continuity between us."
• As well, the match could have been a playoff preview. The teams are sitting second and third in the Eastern Conference, separated by eight points heading into the weekend, and their pairing could be all but set after this weekend's matches.
• "There is obviously a chance. We have four games left, and one and two in the conference are pretty obvious, whereas three and four and five are not. It's all mathematically possible for any of the four teams remaining to be three, four, or five," Arena said. " ... We have lost two tough games in this series. With the draw tonight, we have played tough, and I don't think walking off this field tonight, we are thinking we can't beat this team."
• A victory against Real and the right combination of results involving Chicago, Colorado and Columbus over the weekend could leave the Red Bulls on the precipice of qualifying for the postseason at the end of the weekend. With a win, New York would move to 41 points; if Chicago loses, and Colorado draws or loses, then each of those teams could do no better than reach 41 points.
• "The playoffs in this league, the opening rounds are very close, not much difference. We saw last year with the team we had, I would say it isn't at the level of the team we have this year, but we had a chance at the end of that series," Arena said. "Right now, our focus is to qualify for the playoffs, we're not there yet, we have a way to go and we have to get better. The effort in Chicago last week and the effort this week was good, and we can build on this."
• In the starting lineup for a second consecutive match, his first two MLS starts, Francis Doe certainly made an impact, scoring his first goal for the first equalizer and winning a head ball for Juan Pablo Angel to finish for the second.
• "Right now, I'm getting better. I came from Greece and it had been four months since I didn't play soccer. ... I saw the playing time coming. I was playing 20 minutes and making some impact so I knew I was going to be one day in the first 11. Getting in the first 11 is a competition because we have a lot of great players; it depends on the hard work," Doe said. Said Arena: "He played well tonight. He's a dangerous attacking player who is finding his way with our team and finding his fitness. He had a big goal tonight, and he had some decent chances. He also helped create chances tonight."
• Angel's equalizer, his 16th goal of the year, tied him with fellow Colombian Adolfo Valencia for most goals scored in a single season for the club, set in 2000. "I'm happy about it but I'm more happy the goal helped us to tie the game up today," Angel said.
REAL SALT LAKE Real Salt Lake won for the third time in their last seven games - after winning two over the first five months - getting the game's lone goal in a 1-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids at Rice-Eccles Stadium in the third Rocky Mountain Cup meeting of the season. RSL are still in 11th place in the MLS overall table, two points ahead now of both Toronto FC and the LA Galaxy, with 23 points and four points left to play, nine points out of the final playoff spot.
LAST MATCH
• Real Salt Lake were winless in their last four games, though were coming off a dramatic midweek 2-2 with the Los Angeles Galaxy, while the Colorado Rapids were winless in their last three after hauling themselves back into the playoff picture with three wins on the trot.
• In a driving rain on the Wasatch Front, Real took the lead at the half-hour mark as one of the players who made the Rocky Mountain competition a true rivalry played his part.
• Kyle Beckerman, reviled by the RSL fans in his days with the Rapids before his trade to the Utah club earlier this year, found Chris Brown free on the left. Brown took a shot that Colorado 'keeper Bouna Coundoul was able to get down and parry, but the rebound came straight out to Kyle Brown, and he knocked it back home for the eventual winner.
• The Rapids came close in the dying minutes when Jose Cancela sent a long free kick on goal that RSL 'keeper Nick Rimando couldn't hold. But with a pair of Rapids attackers swinging, he was able to knock it away. The RSL win leveled the season series for the Rocky Mountain Cup with the teams set to meet in the regular season finale.
• RSL head coach Jason Kreis made five changes to the team that settled for a 2-2 draw with LA Galaxy three nights earlier at home. Chris Lancos and Matias Mantilla came into the back four for Eddie Pope and Jean-Martial Kipré, Atiba Harris came in for the suspended Carey Talley, and Chris Brown and Kyle Brown entered the attack in place of Alecko Eskandarian and Robbie Findley.
• Here's Kreis's team (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando - Chris Lancos, Matias Mantilla, Ritchie Kotschau, Chris Wingert - Kyle Beckerman, Atiba Harris - Chris Brown, Andy Williams (Carey Talley 46), Kyle Brown (Javier Morales 62) - Yura Movsisyan (Fabian Espindola 73). Substitutes Not Used: Robbie Findley, Willis Forko, Eddie Pope, Chris Seitz
TEAM NEWS
• With their playoff hopes getting slimmer by the game, Kreis wanted to put emphasis on winning the Rocky Mountain Cup. Each team now has won one game, with one draw, in the rivalry series, and it will all be decided in the season finale at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
• "We tried to stress to the players over the last couple of days that this was something for them to take away from the season. This is a chance to win a trophy. I don't believe this club has won a trophy yet, so this a chance to win something to put in the trophy case in the offseason, all the way up until next year," Kreis said. "I do believe it's important, I do believe the guys took the message and put it out there tonight."
• For Kyle Brown, the goal was the second of his professional career, after scoring Sept. 8 in the 4-3 loss at Houston Dynamo. It was his third start this season; he made 12 appearances (two starts) in his rookie season last year with the New England Revolution.
• "Kyle is a player that we feel has really started to come into some confidence. He's started to come into some form. We've noticed that in the trainings and in the reserve games, so we have been wanting to give him a real opportunity," Kreis said. "Tonight he wasn't in the starting lineup, but Fabian Espíndola showed up with some pain in his groin. So credit to Kyle, because that's not the easiest thing to do, to show up at the stadium thinking you're not starting and then being thrust into the starting lineup an hour before kickoff."
• Kyle Beckerman said the RSL fans had taken some time to warm up to him - especially after some strong comments following the first two Rocky Mountain Cup matches this season. With Eddie Pope on the bench, Kreis handed Beckerman the captain's armband for the game.
• "I didn't need any more motivation, but for Jason to give me that, it felt really good," Beckerman said. "I thank him for that; it was a good notion on his part, but there was no need for more motivation for that game." Said Kreis: "It would be hard for me to place this game above any of the others, because for me and the entire staff, we feel Kyle has played at that kind of level every game. Tonight was fantastic, but all of them have been fantastic."
• As well, it was the first match against his former club for Chris Wingert. "I like the guys on their team and I knew they were going to come out and battle too. It always feels good to get a win against your former team, but at the same time there was a lot else at stake, not just the fact that I used to play on their team. We needed a win badly, and also the Rocky Mountain Cup is on the line. It was huge for us and it felt great," he said.
• There has been a bit of a turnaround for Real over the last seven matches. They have taken points from five games (three wins, two draws), scored 12 goals, and had shutouts in two of the last three games.
• "It's always good to play for something, and the way our year is going, we needed that win bad," goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. "The guys have been working hard, and everybody wants the points. We haven't been that lucky the last two games, and tonight, especially against Colorado, a special game for a couple of these guys, we got the win and that's what we needed." Said Kreis: "I'm running out of words [for Rimando] -- stellar, fantastic. He saved another game for us, saved two points tonight for us."
