All week, New York interim head coach Richie Williams emphasized that his team needed to avoid the poor starts that the squad had seen in recent games. Last Saturday, the Red Bulls conceded a second minute goal to Dominic Oduro in a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. A week before that, New England was able to take the lead in the fifth minute when Clint Dempsey fortuitously found the back of the net off a failed New York clearance attempt.
On Friday, New York finally got the start they needed by attacking Colorado's defense on a number of occasions, while staying steady in the back, sparking the team's 1-0 win over the Rapids and snapping a three-game losing streak.
"We came out with a little bit more confidence than we did before," said defender Marvell Wynne. "We didn't give up a goal, we didn't give up too many chances early on. I think we came out and we took it to them like we said we had to and overall, we did really well."
Midfielder Amado Guevara, who eventually converted the team's first penalty kick of the season in the 34th minute, had a pair of fantastic breakaway opportunities to find the back of the net, but put both shots over the bar in a game that could have been broken open early.
The Red Bulls out-shot Colorado 8-6. However, this statistic is relatively misleading.
While goaltender Jon Conway, who started his third game of the season after Tony Meola went down in the middle of the week due to a bacterial infection of his right foot and ankle, made two saves in the opening 45 minutes, he was hardly troubled for the most part. According to players, this was due to the overall defense's solid play.
"They did a great job in front of me," Conway said after his first shutout of 2006. "They performed outstanding. I just picked up a few loose balls, a couple crosses and maybe one real shot, but other than that, my job was easy and it was great."
Though on another day, he would normally have three or four goals from the chances he created, Guevara was the conductor of the midfield, spraying balls around to wingers Wynne, Stammler, Chris Henderson and Mike Magee, while controlling possession.
"I was more focused today," said Guevara, who was wearing the captain's armband in place of Meola on Friday. "I didn't just control the midfield by myself, it was all four of us together. Danny [O'Rourke], Mike [Magee] and Chris [Henderson] helped me a lot to get the ball in the midfield.
"I'll tip my hat off to the defense and the midfield," Williams said. "They did well and they were solid in the back. We had made a couple of mistakes in the last three or four games that led directly to goals and I think today, they were focused, they were concentrating for 90 minutes and we need them to continue to do that."
With the win, the Red Bulls (3-6-8) moved to 17 points - one behind fifth-place Columbus, pending the Crew's result against D.C. United on Saturday. And the team will have a chance next Wednesday to control its own destiny for one night, when it travels to Columbus to battle their Eastern Conference rivals on Wednesday.
"It's important for sure," Conway said about Friday's result. "We get a win, get three points and then go out to Columbus next week and try to do the same thing."
Bulls finally earn penalty kick
For 1,475 minutes this season, New York, with its fair share of questionable calls or non-calls going against their way, went without a penalty kick opportunity.
However, on a newly-installed turf and a solid first half performance, something had to change.
It took much persistence on their part, but for the first time this season, the Red Bulls earned a penalty kick, as midfielder Amado Guevara capitalized, giving the team a 1-0 lead on Friday against Colorado.
In the 34th minute, the Red Bulls were able to keep possession in the Rapids' attacking third, as Mike Magee raced with the ball down the right wing before he was surrounded by a pair of defenders. He temporarily lost the ball, but while on the ground, Magee was able to slide it back to a trailing Chris Henderson, who streaked towards goal before being brought down by Eric Denton. Referee Jair Marrufo immediately pointed to the penalty spot.
"The ball was loose and I had a chance to get into goal," Henderson said. "At that moment, I felt [Denton] grab my shirt, I knew I couldn't move forward and I wanted to make sure that if I was going to go down, that I landed on the ball so [the referee] had to make a decision."
Up stepped Guevara, who earlier missed a breakaway opportunity on net, and the Honduran midfielder calmly sent goaltender Joe Cannon the wrong way, tallying his second goal of the season.
Guevara scored four goals off penalty kicks last season.
Game Briefs:
Conway, who stopped four shots on Friday, now has six shutouts over his six-year career ... Forward Jerrod Laventure made his second-straight appearance, coming on for Edson Buddle in the 69th minute. Rookie Joe Vide also featured in his third game of the year, replacing Henderson in the 84th ... After starting out 0-3-1, the Red Bulls victory over the Rapids marks Williams' first career win as interim head coach ... Guevara led the team with six shots.
