Not long ago, it looked as if the New York Red Bulls could walk away from the Eastern Conference -- if not the entirety of Major League Soccer. They were scoring goals at nearly a record pace, had the hottest striker in the league in Juan Pablo Angel, and were allowing less than a goal per game after starting the season with a record shutout streak.
On Saturday night at Crew Stadium, the Red Bulls solved some of their recent defensive woes, but this time failed to get any goals, seeing their winless streak reach three games in a 1-0 loss to Columbus.
In the four contests previous to Saturday, the Red Bulls had allowed 11 goals. In the two-week break since their last match, the club's defense was virtually gutted, with four defenders let go.
Against the Crew, Kevin Goldthwaite -- acquired from Toronto FC during the week -- made his Red Bulls debut, playing at left back. Hunter Freeman returned to the lineup for the first time since May 5. But Kei Kamara snapped home a header in the 69th minute and that was all Columbus needed.
"We have to get the group playing together a little bit," said Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena. "Physically, it was a little tough on Hunter Freeman today. It was his first game in over two months so he'll need a little time. We were caught without a reserve defender tonight. We'll have that organized by the next game."
The Red Bulls hadn't scored fewer than two goals in any of their last six games. But they were shut out by a Columbus team that had allowed four goals to New York in their May 19 meeting at Giants Stadium.
Angel was barely a factor in the game, rarely even touching the ball in the first half and only getting one shot off all night.
"Give them credit," said Arena. "[Angel] lost a few balls, and we did not do a good job serving balls in to him. Their center backs did a good job on Angel."
Angel also gave credit to the Crew and the effort they put forth. "I think they were better over the 90 minutes and they fully deserved the win," he said.
The Red Bulls also got a first look Saturday at newly-acquired midfielder Santino Quaranta, as he came on as a substitute in the 79th minute for Dave van den Bergh.
"It's a great organization to be with," said Quaranta about his new team. "I'm very happy to be here with the staff and players. However, I'm upset with the result tonight."
Quaranta and Arena have worked together before on the national team level, and are looking forward to enjoying success together in MLS.
"I worked with him at the U.S. national team, and he seemed to get the best out of me," said Quaranta. "I'm very excited to work with him."
Nathan Linton is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
