E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The last time D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls met at Giants Stadium, Alecko Eskandarian scored two goals, took a swig of the energy drink and spit it out on the turf in celebrating his first, and United walked away with a dominating 4-1 victory.
That game was back on April 22 and so much has changed between the rivals. D.C. is still the class of the league, but the Red Bulls proved that gap might be closing soon after the two teams played to a scoreless draw Wednesday night in the first game back in MLS for Bruce Arena and Dema Kovalenko.
The Red Bulls extend their streak to five league games without a loss while D.C. has now gone three games without a win, their longest drought of the year.
New Red Bulls boss Arena, who won two MLS Cups and a U.S. Open Cup with United, made his return to MLS after eight years in charge of the U.S. national team. With midfielders Seth Stammler (yellow card accumulation) and Danny O'Rourke (red card) suspended, Arena started Kovalenko as the holding midfielder behind Amado Guevara. Mike Magee started on the right and Youri Djorkaeff, making his first MLS start since June 18 after missing seven games to attend to his ailing mother in France, started up front with Edson Buddle.
United went with the same starting XI as they did in their last league game, a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake July 29.
It took Kovalenko just 24 seconds to make his presence known, chopping down United's Brian Carroll for the game's first foul.
The Red Bulls played one of their best halves of the season in the opening 45 minutes. They were organized and patient on the ball, did well to hold possession but had few scoring chances.
They attacked down the left but Chris Henderson wasn't able to make anything out of a bevy of crosses. The Red Bulls' best opportunity came in the 38th minute on a great ball by Djorkaeff to Henderson, who pushed the ball across the face of the goal to Magee. But Magee put the ball off the outside netting at the far post.
D.C. United's best chances of the first half were shots from distance by Brian Carrroll, one in the 20th minute Tony Meola pushed over the crossbar for a corner kick and another in the 35th minute that sailed just over the bar.
As is often the case when the two rivals meet, there were more fouls than shots in a physical first half that saw three players (Carlos Mendes, Magee and Facundo Erpen) receive yellow cards. Perhaps the worst challenge, Guevara's tackle on Jaime Moreno from behind, wasn't even called by referee Mauricio Navarro.
D.C. coach Peter Nowak opened some eyes at the start of the second half, taking off Freddy Adu and bringing on Clyde Simms.
Both teams exchanged chances in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, but Guevara's deflected shot was saved by Troy Perkins and Moreno's first go at goal was a low shot wide to Meola's right.
Magee tried to latch onto a lofted ball by Guevara, but he was clipped by Perkins, who came off his line. Magee limped off the field with sprained ligaments in his right knee and was replaced by Joe Vide in the 63rd minute.
The Red Bulls appeared to have a legitimate appeal for a penalty kick in the 76th minute when Djorkaeff's shot deflected off the left arm of defender Bryan Namoff, but Navarro ruled play on.
The Red Bulls came inches away from scoring the winner in the 82nd minute but Buddle's header off a Henderson cross was wide to Perkins' left. Four minutes later Perkins was forced into a difficult save of a Henderson shot that Erpen nearly deflected into his own goal.
United nearly snatched the full three points in the first minute of stoppage time when Moreno sent Gros in behind the Red Bulls right and he pulled a cross past Meola's dive to Walker at the penalty spot. But his shot was deflected away by Mendes as he backtracked into the goalmouth.
D.C. is home to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday afternoon while the Red Bulls play at Columbus.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
