Red Bulls can't catch breaks in loss to Los Angeles
Osorio upset to lose three points on Stammler handball
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"We are not getting any breaks at the moment," Osorio said after a 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.
Osorio's remarks perhaps also describe the way the Red Bulls' season has progressed. New York can't find a way to win.
"I think it was a tough result to digest. I think for as much as we kept possession and to have the chances that we had, I believe we deserved at least a point. So, I'm extremely disappointed that on a penalty we lost three points," Osorio said.
Saturday's result marked the Red Bulls' third consecutive regular season loss. It's the club's fourth loss on the road in five matches.
A 2-1 win against San Jose Wednesday in a U.S. Open Cup play-in game shed some light on New York's season. But that is not enough for a struggling team. The Red Bulls' only regular season win came at home against Real Salt Lake, a 2-0 result April 18.
The Red Bulls still couldn't catch a break when they thought they were on their way to another win when they led D.C. United 2-1 late in the matchup. But D.C. went on to score two goals in injury time for a 3-2 win.
The latest game appeared to be an improvement but his team still couldn't get a break. A handball that led to a penalty kick was the difference against the Galaxy.
Landon Donovan converted the penalty kick in the 39th minute for the Galaxy after Red Bulls midfielder Seth Stammler was called for a handball just inside the penalty area.
Donovan tried centering a pass from right to left when the ball ricocheted off Stammler's right arm. Stammler reacted to Donovan's pass, cocking his arms toward his body as the ball hit the back of his forearm.
That was enough for linesman Frank Anderson to raise his flag indicating the handball to referee Abbey Okulaja, who delayed for a few seconds before blowing the whistle.
"I thought I did pretty well to keep my hands within my body." Stammler said. "I haven't seen it on tape, obviously but I'll be interested to see it and to see if it was the right call or he exaggerated.
"I was just going for the ball and when he hit it I think I just put my hand up a little bit. I made contact but I thought it was within my body."
Osorio had a politically correct answer to the question.
"I have been advised not to talk too much about the officials," said Osorio. "I will resist my temptation. It's difficult because there was no replay. You can only go for the reaction of my player. He's a genuine player and he looked shocked."
Osorio said he'll move on and will try to bounce back when they take on San Jose May 8. "You're only as far as your last game," he said. "A lot of questions are being asked. But at some point, this is going to turn around. "We have been in all the games except for the game in Seattle (a 3-0 loss).
"We certainly deserve a lot more points than what we have shown for at the moment. I want to be optimistic and want to say we are one game away from turning this thing around."
That is if Osorio's team can catch a break.
Ivan Orozco is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
