NEW YORK RED BULLS vs COLORADO RAPIDS
GIANTS STADIUM, E. Rutherford, N.J.
May 30, 2009 (WEEK 11) / MLS Game #79
7:30 p.m. ET (MSG; Altitude)
The Colorado Rapids make their second visit to the East Coast in a three-week span when they take on the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium. The Rapids have not lost in their last four games, playing to the first of back-to-back draws in a trip to New England a couple of weeks ago, while the Red Bulls saw their two-game unbeaten run come to an end against Chicago last week. The Red Bulls are finishing out a four-game homestand with the match, resumption of a series that saw a bucketful of goals scored a year ago.
REFEREE: Ricardo Salazar. SAR (bench): Thomas Supple; JAR (opposite): Eric Boria; 4th: Jorge Gonzalez MLS Career: 86 games; FC/gm: 28.8; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 23; pens: 28
INJURY REPORT: NEW YORK RED BULLS - OUT: DF Carlos Johnson (L foot fifth metatarsal fracture); QUESTIONABLE: DF Carlos Mendes (bruised internal organ) ... COLORADO RAPIDS - OUT: GK Steward Ceus (R meniscus tear/surgery); DOUBTFUL: MF Ivan Guerrero (L ankle strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: NY: Jorge Rojas (through May 31)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: NY: Dane Richards ... COL: Conor Casey, Cory Gibbs
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (29 meetings): Red Bulls 13 wins (0 shootout), 44 goals ... Rapids 13 wins (0 shootout), 39 goals ... Ties 3
AT NEW YORK (14 meetings): Red Bulls 7 wins(0 shootout), 28 goals ... Rapids 6 wins (0 shootout), 21 goals ... Ties 1
RETURN MATCH: New York Red Bulls at Colorado Rapids, 7:30 p.m. MT
LAST YEAR (MLS):
7/4: COL 4, NY 0 (McManus 24; Ballouchy 37; Clark 49; Cummings 68)
9/27: NY 4, COL 5 (Magee 5; Angel 34; Richards 40; Mbuta 74 - Cummings 3; Casey 11, 45, 90; Petke 43)
• Over the 14-year history of the league, the teams have evenly split their all-time series, each winning 13 games in the 29 meetings with three ties.
• The Rapids won the season series for the first time since 2004 in wild fashion last year, scoring nine goals over the two games, winning in a rout at home and a crazy nine-goal thriller at Giants Stadium.
• The first meeting last season was the first time in six games, since a 3-1 MetroStars win in April 2005, that either team scored more than a single goal. Three of the games finished in 1-0 results and two were 1-1 draws before the Rapids' 4-0 win.
• Coaches record: Juan Carlos Osorio vs. COL: P2 W0 L2 D0 ... Gary Smith v NY: P1 W1 L0 D0
NEW YORK RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls saw their modest two-game unbeaten run come to an end, falling 1-0 at home to the Chicago Fire on Sunday afternoon at Giants Stadium. The Red Bulls have nine points from 11 matches on the year ...
LAST MATCH
• The Fire had put an end to a single-season record of five consecutive draws with a victory against Toronto the week before, while the Red Bulls extended their unbeaten streak to a modest two games with a tie against San Jose after going a man down.
• The game's lone goal came just before the stroke of halftime. A long Jon Busch clearance was met in a heading duel by Brian McBride, and the Fire's Logan Pause stepped forward to head the deflection goalward. Chris Rolfe snuck in behind the Red Bulls backline, chested down the ball and hooked a shot inside the left post for his third goal on the season and second in as many games.
• The win extended Juan Carlos Osorio's winless streak against his former club, with the Fire now having defeated New York in all five meetings since he moved from Chicago to the Red Bulls.
• Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio made two changes to the team that played to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo the week before. Jeremy Hall came in at right back for the injured Carlos Johnson and John Wolyniec made his first start of the year in place of the suspended Jorge Rojas.
• Here's Osorio's team (4-4-2): Jon Conway - Jeremy Hall, Kevin Goldthwaite, Mike Petke (Dane Richards 54), Alfredo Pacheco - Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Danleigh Borman 62), Albert Celades, Seth Stammler, Macoumba Kandji - John Wolyniec, Juan Pablo Angel. Substitutes Not Used: Andrew Boyens, Danny Cepero, Dominic Oduro, Juan Pietravallo, Nick Zimmerman
• "Very limited chances for both teams and in that one play that we went over and over; I don't know how many times, we got done," Osorio said. "On the second half, we did everything to change the game. We had most of the possession; we had enough chances to at least tie that game. I recall one chance, maybe half a chance in the second half (Brian) McBride missed it. Other than that, they didn't have anything."
TEAM NEWS
• Of the 13 goals the Red Bulls have conceded this year, five have come in the closing moments of a half. Two have come in the final minute or stoppage time in the first half; three have come in the same period at 90 minutes. But Osorio said a lack of concentration is not to blame.
• "I think it's the opposite, I think it is too much pressure building up for the final minutes," he said. "That's just my personal belief. We have to find a psychologist that can tell us what was going on."
• The Red Bulls had a season-high 10 shots on goal as a team, and a season-high 11 corner kicks. Juan Pablo Angel had six total shots, and three on target, both individual season-highs for New York.
• "Yes, I'm encouraged but ... I think that at the end of the day, we all know that this is about results. A lot of people will forget how we played the second half against D.C. or how well we played the second half here today, but yes, to answer the question I am encouraged by that," Osorio said.
• It was the fourth time in 11 games on the season that the Red Bulls have lost by the game's lone goal. "Tough pill to swallow, but I think you can look at positives," said Kevin Goldthwaite. "We've played well with three in the back in the last four or five games, and we have been great in the back. So you look at that and think maybe it can be a possibility or solution in the future. But I think you have to swallow it and take it for what it is right now."
• The Fire are now 5-0 in the past two years against Osorio's Red Bulls since he left Chicago to coach New York following the 2007 season. After scoring five goals twice last year, the Fire have a pair of 1-0 victories against the Red Bulls this year.
• "Eventually it has to change," Juan Pablo Angel said. "We don't have to take it personal that it is Chicago we cannot beat. I think we played well today, but at the end of the day we didn't win. But there will come a time that we're going to beat them because we're getting close. It's a very hard defeat to take today because I really felt for the majority of the game we played really well."
COLORADO RAPIDS
The Colorado Rapids extended their unbeaten run to four games, but felt like points were dropped as Seattle Sounders FC came back for a late 2-2 draw on Saturday evening at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids have 13 points from nine matches on the season, 11 points behind conference leaders Chivas USA entering the week.
LAST MATCH
• Sounders FC had scored first only to end up in draws in back-to-back games, while the Rapids had come off a bye week with a 1-1 draw at New England the week before.
• Sounders FC took the lead after just 17 minutes. James Riley put in a cross from the right flank and Fredy Montero got to it, only to see his shot come straight back off the woodwork. But Montero calmly headed the rebound back into the unguarded goal for his first goal since March 28.
• But the Rapids were level eight minutes later. A wonderful sweeping movement up the right flank saw Omar Cummings turn the corner and drive in a low centering pass that Colin Clark turned home for his second goal of the year.
• Two minutes after the halftime restart, the Rapids pulled ahead. Conor Casey rumbled forward from midfield and into the Seattle penalty area before hammering a left-footed drive that took a deflection off a sliding Peter Vagenas and past Kasey Keller to keep him tied for the league lead with six goals.
• But Keller made four saves, a couple of the stunning variety, and in the 76th minute Sounders FC hit for the equalizer. Riley's early cross found Montero in the area, he played it square to Nate Jaqua, and he stroked it home for his second goal on the season.
• Rapids head coach Gary Smith made one change to the team that played to a 1-1 draw at New England the week before. Cory Gibbs returned to the lineup with Kosuke Kimura going to the substitutes' bench as Ugo Ihemelu moved to right back.
• Here's Smith's team (4-1-3-2): Matt Pickens - Ugo Ihemelu (Kosuke Kimura 71), Cory Gibbs, Scott Palguta (Ty Harden 77), Jordan Harvey - Pablo Mastroeni - Nick LaBrocca, Mehdi Ballouchy, Colin Clark - Conor Casey, Omar Cummings (Jacob Peterson 79). Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo, Terry Cooke, Greg Dalby, Gregory Richardson
• "Up 2-1, there's a fine line between getting a third goal and really putting it out of their reach and leaving yourself vulnerable," Smith said. "We got that line slightly wrong tonight. There was half of the group trying to win the game outright, and the other half of the group thinking we should just hold onto it. And it gave [Seattle] an opportunity to get a little bit of a foothold in the game. It's very disappointing. The players have put a tremendous amount of effort into the game. But you don't always get what you deserve, and we didn't tonight."
TEAM NEWS
• For the third time in four games the Rapids were pulled back into a draw after taking a one-goal lead. This time was perhaps more heartening after the effort Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller made to keep his side close.
• "You go up 2-1, you still want to put a show on for the fans, you want to create opportunities, you want to put the game away," Colin Clark said. "I feel like even at 2-1, 1-0, with a one-goal lead we're very capable of pulling away with a victory. There's just some 'it' factor that we can't control, and I don't know what it is. We need to get it sorted out though."
• Smith made two changes in his back four late in the match. Ugo Ihemelu, who moved to right back with the return of Cory Gibbs from injury to central defense, came off for Kosuke Kimura, who had started the previous four matches. Then Scott Palguta had to come off with cramps.
• "Changes don't help us," Smith said. "Whenever you've got to make changes in the back four - it's not nice for any player to come off the bench and get to the pace of the game. But for a defender on a greasy surface, it's that much more difficult. I thought we took a little bit of time to accustomize ourselves to a change and then two. I have to be honest, at the end Matt Pickens makes an unbelievable save to earn us a point, when really and truly it should have just been a consolation for them."
• After going more than a month between goals, Conor Casey has now scored in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
• On Tuesday, the Rapids were eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup in a 1-0 loss to Seattle in a rematch of the league match, played at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash. Kevin Forrest nodded home from close range in the 61st minute for the game's lone goal.
• Here's Smith's team: Preston Burpo, Kosuke Kimura, Ty Harden, Rob Valentino, Michael Holody, Jacob Peterson, Mehdi Ballouchy (Nick LaBrocca 46), Terry Cooke, Ciaran O'Brien (Jordan Harvey 70), Ross Schunk (Scott Palguta 71), Gregory Richardson. Substitutes Not Used: Colin Clark, Omar Cummings, Ivan Guerrero, Matt Pickens.
• "I think we showed some nice depth to our group tonight," Smith said. "I was pleased with some of our performances."
