If Major League Soccer wants a promotional video to show the quality of the league, all it needs is to just show a tape of the New York Red Bulls-Los Angeles Galaxy thriller on Saturday night.
There was one special superstar who set up three goals, there were nine overall goals, including a game-winner two minutes from full time. Yes, the majority of the 66,237 fans who packed the Meadowlands might have come to see David Beckham, who didn't disappoint, playing the entire 90 minutes. But instead, they left having watched a stunning 5-4 victory by the Red Bulls.
"If the fans tonight didn't enjoy that, then they know nothing about soccer, and they have no idea really what they're looking at," Los Angeles coach Frank Yallop said. "Nine goals, some great players, some fighting, some scrapping, all the things that were good for our game were there tonight. That was a great advert for the game. It should have been a tie, though."
And for Bruce Arena, all that matters is the three points, even though the Red Bulls coach might need some antacid for the trip home.
"I'm happy to walk away with three points," Arena said. "But I'm certainly scratching my head a bit."
The Red Bulls did concede three goals off set pieces and goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus looked shaky in his return to the starting lineup. But there were some special offensive performances by Jozy Altidore and Juan Pablo Angel, who scored two goals apiece. And there was Clint Mathis, who turned back the clock and had a vintage outing in front of a grand stage.
"We're certainly at fault for poor defending on restarts, however on our end I think the performance by Altidore, Angel and Mathis was superb," Arena said. "I think they did a fantastic job. For the people here, I'm sure it was a fun game to watch from the stands. But I don't think Frank and I are completely happy with it."
Mathis set up two goals and scored one of his own, an equalizer in first-half stoppage time that was his 45th in a New York uniform, breaking the club's all-time record for goals scored set by Giovanni Savarese.
"Records are great, but they are just numbers, they're meant to be broken," Mathis said. "It is a great honor to pass someone like Savarese, who is a great guy and a great soccer player. It's a great honor in that respect, but I was a little happier that we got that second goal to tie it up right before halftime."
For veterans like Angel and Mathis, it was an atmosphere like they've experiences on a weekly basis in Europe. But it was a first for Altidore, a 17-year-old budding star who hasn't seen crowds like this before in cavernous Giants Stadium.
"I am never going to forget a game like this," Altidore said. "It was an amazing feeling. Clint told me earlier in the week, 'Remember this.' He's right -- the atmosphere, the crowd, the game itself. It was truly amazing."
And so was Altidore, who scored twice in the second half. He was played behind the Los Angeles defense for his first goal in the 49th minute and danced around a pair of defenders before beating Joe Cannon with a shot back across the goal in the 70th minute.
"When he faces defenders, he can go by them and he can finish off his chances," Arena said. "He's a kid that's going to be 18 years old in November, and he is starting to show that he is a player with a lot of potential."
And he's a player who caught Beckham's eye.
"He is a great player, they have a few good players that we knew about before the game, and it was all about stopping them," Beckham said. "We did it to an extent, but good players always get chances. When he got his chances, he took them."
And while the fans were hoping for a moment of brilliance from Beckham, they got an exhilarating ending thanks to another former English Premiership standout as Angel, who arrived in New York on a free transfer from Aston Villa, scored the winner two minutes from full time. The Colombian international followed Mathis' saved shot and put the ball off Cannon and into the net for his 12th goal of the season.
"It was great for everyone involved in the club and also for the league," Angel said. "All the first-time watchers could enjoy a great show tonight. There were nine goals, a lot of quality, a few mistakes, but I think overall it was a great performance for us as a team that's going to give us a lot more confidence."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
