The New York Red Bulls put their best attacking side on the field and pressed to get the all-important home win in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Saturday night.
Instead, New York settled for a scoreless draw with the New England Revolution at Giants Stadium and needs a victory at Gillette Stadium to advance out of the first round for the second time in club history.
Granted the Revs will be looking for a win as well, but the home side next weekend will surely be confident based on its record at home during the regular season (8-3-4) and its dominance of New York in Foxborough over the years.
In fact, the last Red Bulls victory was back on Sept. 29, 2002, a span of 13 games.
But the Red Bulls aren't concerned with history or past form. It's all about one game, 90 minutes or more next Saturday.
"Stats are stats. It's what matters on this present day," Jozy Altidore said. "Who cares how many times we haven't won there. We showed it today, we showed it throughout the year. They've gotten real lucky, but now is the time to improve it. We talked about it so much, but now we have to do it."
Even though they stressed the importance of winning at home, the Red Bulls are in a better position this year than they were last, when they dropped the opener to D.C. United 1-0 at Giants Stadium.
"You don't need to win the game, but it certainly would have helped the cause to win it," Red Bulls boss Bruce Arena said. "We will go to New England and we have to win, it's simple. Last year, we lost the opening game here, so it's not an impossible feat."
But that doesn't make Altidore feel any better about walking out of the Meadowlands with nothing to show for a dominating performance.
"It's a lot more frustrating, believe it or not because this year. I just felt more for each other and I think this team has come a long way and I thought we'd get a win tonight," he said. "Saying that, we still did well enough where we didn't let them play, get the win going into New England."
Knowing that the Red Bulls would be desperate to score, New England put numbers behind the ball, countering when there was an opportunity. With the return leg at home, New England was fine with playing for a draw, which is exactly what they left with.
"We know this team very well, they know us and that's what probably makes it harder for both teams to break each other down because we really know each other's strengths," Claudio Reyna said. "I'd say it comes down to one or two plays and hopefully it falls in our favor."
And the Red Bulls had that chance five minutes into the game. A stunning back heel flick by Juan Pablo Angel sent Francis Doe in alone on goal. But Matt Reis came up with the big save.
The ball goes in the net and the game's complexion surely would have changed.
"I thought it was a pretty even game," Angel said. "The best chance of the game went for us and if we would have taken that chance it would have been a different game. But we didn't do it."
The Red Bulls are confident that with their depth up front, those chances will come at Gillette Stadium. But the finishing needs to improve if they have hope of advancing.
"It will come down to one play, one breakdown, one chance," Dema Kovalenko said. "Hopefully we'll be the team to create the chance and score."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
