The New York Red Bulls saw their winless streak extended to four games with a 4-0 loss to Houston Dynamo in Robertson Stadium on Thursday. The Red Bulls have been extremely kind to opposing offenses of late, giving up 16 goals in their past six contests after allowing only seven in their first nine matches in all competitions this season.
The Red Bulls defense allowed a total of 11 shots, including seven on target. Houston's four goals matches the highest total that New York has allowed to an opposing team this season, matching D.C. United's four-goal output on June 10.
New York forward Juan Pablo Angel, who leads the league with nine goals in only nine matches with the Red Bulls, was noticeably quiet during the match. Though he made a few solid plays in the midfield both on the dribble and with crisp passes, he did not notch a single shot on the night.
The defensive problems started early for the Red Bulls, when New York goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus punched a shot on goal by Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden back out into the box in the 12th minute. None of the Red Bulls defenders could get to the ball in time to clear it, and Houston forward Brian Ching recovered the rebound and tried to send the ball back into the goalmouth, only for Waterreus to kick it clear.
Waterreus' quick reflexes saved the day, but clearance would continue to be a problem for the Red Bulls as the first half progressed. Only four minutes after Holden and Ching's back-to-back attempts on goal, a muffed clearance attempt by Red Bulls defender Kevin Goldthwaite gave Ching another chance from within the box. New York defender Carlos Mendes stepped in front of Ching's shot to end the immediate threat.
Goldthwaite received a yellow card in the 27th minute for tripping up Dynamo midfielder Brian Mullan as he got up from a slide to pursue a loose ball. On the ensuing kick, Dynamo forward Joseph Ngwenya was at the far post to receive Holden's cross, bouncing a header past Waterreus and into the left corner of the goal.
In the 31st minute, Ching put home another rebound to double the Houston lead. The U.S. international got onto the end of a corner, only to have it come back off the post. Two Red Bulls defenders tried to clear, but succeeded only in rolling it out to Ching at the top of the box, and he sent his shot back home into the right-hand corner.
Giving up two goals in four minutes seemed to serve as a wake-up call for the New York attack, and the Red Bulls maintained pressure on the Dynamo defense for the remainder of the half.
New York's best chance of the half came on a corner kick in the 39th minute. Goldthwaite was on the receiving end of the kick by Red Bulls midfielder Dave van den Bergh, and appeared to have overcome his defender and put the ball above Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad's reaching arms for the goal. The apparent score was recalled, however, for a foul called on Goldthwaite.
The problems for the Red Bulls back line continued in the second half when Ngwenya scored his second goal of the night off of a Houston corner kick in the 50th minute. Ngwenya was once again on the receiving end of Holden's corner service, and made it look easy by muscling his way through the New York defense, sending a glancing header inside the near post and off Waterreus' hands.
The Red Bulls attack mustered its first and only truly dangerous moment of the second half in the 76th minute when substitute Sinisa Ubiparipovic forwarded the ball to a wide-open van den Bergh. Van den Bergh took an extra half-step to set up his shot, allowing Mullan time to slide in from the side to smother the shot attempt.
Houston struck quickly after the close call, with Holden maneuvering around Red Bull defender Jeff Parke in the 79th minute for a wide-open look from the arc at the top of the box. Holden's shot was ripped toward the right post, with Waterreus' dive coming up just short, providing the final score line.
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
