Red Bulls beat Crew, escape cellar
The pair combined for a goal minutes into the second half to give the Red Bulls the only goal they would need for their first winning streak of the season, one day after Bruce Arena was named the club's new head coach and sporting director.
Jerrod Laventure added his first MLS goal late to secure the full three points as the Red Bulls passed the Crew in the Eastern Conference standings and into a tie with the Kansas City Wizards and the Chicago Fire for third place. The Crew's club-record winless streak was extended to nine games.
Recently acquired attackers Marc Burch and Ryan Coiner made their first starts for the Black and Gold. Eric Vasquez earned his first start of the season following a stellar goal against D.C. United. Marcos Gonzalez, back from a suspension, replaced Chad Marshall to anchor the defense. It was the first match that Marshall was a healthy scratch.
For the visitors, the Red Bulls sent out the same squad that defeated the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on Friday afternoon in the first victory for interim head coach Richie Williams.
Columbus controlled much of the early possession, which included several stints of sharp one- and two-touch passing that has been rarely seen over the season. However, the home club was not able to turn the advantage into any great scoring opportunities.
The Red Bulls should have gotten on the board first, against the run of play in the 28th minute, but the final touch was lacking for the visitors. Gonzalez fouled Jean Philippe Peguero near the Crew's bench, and on the ensuing free kick, Amado Guevara found Mike Magee open at the back post after Chris Leitch misjudged the ball in the air. But Magee tried to cross the ball when a shot appeared to be a better option and the Crew were able to clear.
The play swung in favor of the Red Bulls for a brief period, but the visitors were again unable to capitalize. Following a turnover by Eddie Gaven in the midfield, Wynne simply ran by several Crew defenders with no one could match his blazing pace. Wynne found Buddle in a good position, but Noah Palmer stopped his strike. Palmer could not cover up the loose ball and Gonzalez rescued the Crew with a timely clearance.
After the Red Bulls' chances, the Crew battled back to take control of the match. The combination of new additions Burch and Coiner with Gaven and Jacob Thomas set up the Crew with several chances during the closing 10 minutes of the half.
The best opportunity came just before the halftime whistle. Burch made a deft pass to Gaven, who was able to approach Conway alone. The Red Bulls 'keeper made a kick save, but the rebound set up Coiner perfectly for a sitter. Yet Coiner skied the ball over the goal to send the teams level into the break.
It didn't take long for the Red Bulls to take the lead after the break with two former Crew players combining. Buddle received the ball in the middle third of the field and quickly turned to push a long diagonal ball to Chris Henderson. Henderson's first touch appeared to take away the angle, but it did not deter the MLS original. From a tight angle to the left of the Crew goal, Henderson squeezed the ball between Palmer's legs for his second goal of the campaign and the deciding strike on the night.
In the 73rd minute, Jose Retiz was cautioned for a foul on Guevara. The yellow card earned Retiz a suspension for Saturday's match against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Crew could not recapture the attacking panache that they displayed during the first half. Sigi Schmid went to the bench and brought on three attacking players -- Knox Cameron, Kei Kamara, and Sebastian Rozental -- but the moves were unable to spur an equalizer for the hosts.
The Crew's best chance in the second half came from Kamara two minutes from time, but Conway turned away Kamara's shot, eventually surviving for his second shutout of the season, his second in as many games. It was the first time since the 2003 season New York has posted consecutive shutouts.
The Red Bulls then put the match away just before the 90-minute mark ticked over. A long clearance was headed on by Peguero, and second-half substitute Laventure got onto the end of it before chipping Palmer from all of 30 yards, the Crew 'keeper unable to keep the ball out as he backpedaled back toward his goal.
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
