NEW YORK RED BULLS vs NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
GIANTS STADIUM, E. Rutherford, N.J.
Sept. 18, 2009 (WEEK 27) / MLS Game #184
7:30 p.m. ET (MSG; TV38)
The New England Revolution face a huge match when they travel to take on the New York Red Bulls on Friday night at Giants Stadium. Currently sitting three points out of the last spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Revolution lost to Chivas USA last weekend, a second consecutive loss for New England after a season-high three-game winning streak. The Red Bulls are now playing for pride, officially eliminated from playoff contention last week. New York has not defeated New England in league play since Sept. 17, 2005, a span now of 12 matches.
REFEREE: Hilario Grajeda. SAR (bench): Chris Strickland; JAR (opposite): Steven Taylor; 4th: Mark Kadlecik MLS Career: 25 games; FC/gm: 27.9; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 6; pens: 7
INJURY REPORT: NEW YORK RED BULLS - OUT: DF Carlos Mendes (hip surgery); QUESTIONABLE: FW Juan Pablo Angel (R ankle sprain); MF Albert Celades (L calf strain); DF Kevin Goldthwaite (sports hernia surgery); MF Seth Stammler (groin strain) ... NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION - OUT: DF Chris Albright (L lateral meniscus tear); GK Bobby Shuttleworth (concussion); FW Taylor Twellman (concussion); PROBABLE: GK Brad Knighton (Lumbar disc irritation)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: NY: Carlos Johnson (through Sept. 20) ... NE: Edgarus Jankauskas (through Sept. 20); Wells Thompson (caution accumulation; through Sept. 20)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: NY: Seth Stammler ... NE: Kenny Mansally
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: NY: Danleigh Borman, Carlos Johnson, Dane Richards ... NE: Darrius Barnes, Jay Heaps, Jeff Larentowicz, Pat Phelan
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (50 meetings):
Red Bulls 16 wins (2 shootout), 83 goals ... Revolution 24 wins (3 shootout), 91 goals ... Ties 10
AT GIANTS STADIUM:
(26 meetings): Red Bulls 12 wins (0 shootout), 54 goals ... Revolution 8 wins (2 shootout), 41 goals ... Ties 6
• The Revolution's 4-0 victory in the last meeting between the clubs was the first victory by either team in five games in the series. The teams played to a draw in the final of three meetings in 2007, both encounters a season ago and the first meeting this year.
• The New York club has not defeated the Revolution in league play since Sept. 17, 2005, a span now of 12 matches. The Revolution have won seven of those, with five draws, including a five-game winning streak in the series from July 1, 2005-Aug. 25, 2006.
• The Revolution have also eliminated the MetroStars/Red Bulls from the MLS Cup Playoffs in three of the last six seasons, all on the odd years. The lone New York win in postseason play in the series came in 2005, though the Revolution won the second leg to advance.
• Coaches record: Steve Nicol vs. NY: P27 W14 L4 D9 ... Richie Williams v NE: P1 W0 L1 D0
THIS SEASON (MLS):
3/28: NY 1, NE 1 (own goal 35 - Mansally 90)
6/7: NE 4, NY 0 (Heaps 45; Ralston 52; Twellman 57, 64)
• The Revolution again came away from New York with a point after another late equalizer left the teams in a 1-1 draw on March 28 at Giants Stadium.
• The Red Bulls used a little luck for their first goal on the year. Khano Smith sent a rolling cross in from the left and it deflected off Jay Heaps and past stand-in goalkeeper Brad Knighton in the 35th minute. But there were once again late heroics for the Revolution at the Meadowlands. Shalrie Joseph hooked the ball into the area in the 90th minute, and Kenny Mansally raced in to head the bouncing ball past the advancing Danny Cepero.
• On June 7, the Revolution scored four goals in a burst of about 20 minutes for a 4-0 victory at Gillette Stadium.
• It was a night of milestones in Foxborough. Making his 300th appearance, Jay Heaps put the Revolution into the lead in first-half stoppage time. Shalrie Joseph collected a pass in the Red Bulls penalty area, and though knocked away, he retrieved it and laid a pass into the path of the charging New England fullback on the left who drove it into the back of the net.
• Seven minutes after the restart, the Revolution doubled their advantage. Heaps won the ball in the left corner and flighted a high cross into the area where Steve Ralston leapt over a defender and nodded it inside the back post for his fourth goal on the year.
• Taylor Twellman came on at halftime in his second appearance of the season, and it took him just five more minutes to finally hit for goal No. 100 of his league career. Again it was from a cross, Shalrie Joseph swinging in a ball from deep on the right and the completely unmarked Twellman making no mistake at the back stick.
• Twellman completed his double seven minutes later. A poor clearance was picked off by Ralston in the area, and he quickly slid it to Twellman to side-foot home.
• Here's Juan Carlos Osorio's team (4-4-2): Jon Conway - Jeremy Hall, Mike Petke (Sinisa Ubiparipovic 55), Kevin Goldthwaite (Carlos Mendes 80), Danleigh Borman - Nick Zimmerman, Albert Celades, Seth Stammler, Luke Sassano - Juan Pablo Angel, Dane Richards (John Wolyniec 79). Substitutes Not Used: Danny Cepero, Juan Pietravallo, Khano Smith
• Here's Nicol's team (4-4-1-1): Matt Reis - Kevin Alston, Darrius Barnes, Emmanuel Osei, Jay Heaps - Sainey Nyassi (Wells Thompson 73), Pat Phelan (Taylor Twellman 46), Jeff Larentowicz, Kenny Mansally - Steve Ralston (Michael Videira 82) - Shalrie Joseph. Substitutes Not Used: Stephane Assengue, Amaechi Igwe, Brad Knighton, Chris Tierney
NEW YORK RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls saw their two-game winning streak come to an end, falling 1-0 to the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night at Giants Stadium. The Red Bulls have 16 points from 25 matches on the season, sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, 26 points off the pace of Eastern Conference leaders Columbus Crew.
LAST MATCH
• The Wizards were completing a three-game, week-long road swing after winning in New England and losing at D.C. United. The Red Bulls were coming off their first back-to-back wins of the season after putting an end to a 13-game league winless streak.
• The game's lone goal came after just 10 minutes. Claudio Lopez burst clean through, and though goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul stopped his initial shot, the rebound went out to Josh Wolff some 30 yards from goal, and he knocked it into the unguarded for his ninth goal of 2009 and third in three games.
• Kevin Hartman made five saves for the Wizards as New York, MLS Cup Finalists a year ago, became the first officially eliminated from playoff consideration.
• Red Bulls interim head coach Richie Williams made three changes to the team that defeated the Columbus Crew 1-0 the weekend before. Leo Krupnik came into central defense in place of Mike Petke, Ernst Oebster came into the midfield in place of Sinisa Ubiparipovic, and Macoumba Kandji replaced the injured Juan Pablo Angel in attack.
• Here's Williams' team (4-3-1-2): Bouna Coundoul - Carlos Johnson, Andrew Boyens, Leo Krupnik, Danleigh Borman - Dane Richards, Seth Stammler, Ernst Oebster (Nick Zimmerman 64) - Jorge Rojas - Macoumba Kandji, John Wolyniec (Matthew Mbuta 80). Substitutes Not Used: Danny Cepero, Walter Garcia, Jeremy Hall, Mike Petke, Luke Sassano
TEAM NEWS
• While the Red Bulls officially saw their bid to return to the MLS Cup Final come to an end with the loss to Kansas City, as the results stood from the remainder of the weekend, even a victory would have seen them mathematically eliminated.
• "Right now we don't have a chance to make the playoffs, but we still have to play like we're reaching for something," goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul said. "Our next season starts now. We cannot just let the games go because we need to play for our pride, for our family, for the fans who are going to come through rough times and easy times."
• The Red Bulls were coming off a bye week and their first consecutive victories of any sort since their magical run to the MLS Cup Final.
• "Considering that we got a bunch of injuries and we were very slow at the beginning of the game, it seems like a negative to me now," Williams said of the week off. "You would have thought that it would have been the complete opposite."
• Mac Kandji started up top in place of Juan Pablo Angel, and suffered through a difficult first 45 minutes. After the break, Williams said the Senegalese forward was much improved.
• "He was moving around the field too much and wasn't playing as a forward, playing with John Wolyniec up front," Williams said. "You need those guys in front of the goal to score goals and I like the idea that he likes to go and get the ball and be involved in the game ... but he has to stay in front of the goal."
• Carlos Johnson was sent off just after the final whistle - the Costa Rican's third red card of the season and his second against the Wizards.
• "I have no idea why," Johnson said through an interpreter when asked about his red card. "He pushed me, I stood back and after I saw the referee give me a red card. I had no idea why he gave me the red card. I didn't respond to any aggression. Simply, I don't know."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution lost for the second successive weekend, falling 2-0 to Chivas USA on Sunday afternoon at The Home Depot Center. The Revolution have 33 points from 23 matches, now in fifth place in the Eastern Conference,nine points behind the division-leading Columbus Crew.
LAST MATCH
• Chivas USA had followed up their first two wins in more than two months with two more losses, both by shutout, to the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake. The Revolution had seen their three-game winning streak come to an end in a loss to Kansas City at home the weekend before.
• Chivas hadn't scored in 219 minutes coming into the game, but it took them just 10 minutes to open their account. Carey Talley flighted a long ball down the right flank for Justin Braun, who drove a low cross into the area for Maicon Santos to tap home for his first MLS goal.
• Sacha Kljestan put the game away deep into stoppage time, converting from the penalty spot for his third goal on the year (all in the last four games) after Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis was ruled to have tripped up Eduardo Lillingston as he tried to round on a breakaway.
• Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton recorded a third shutout in the last five games for Chivas, not called upon to make a single save on the day.
• Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made three changes to the team that lost 4-2 to the Kansas City Wizards at home the previous weekend. Matt Reis returned to goal in place of Brad Knighton, and Sainey Nyassi and Pat Phelan came into the midfield in place of Mauricio Castro and the suspended Shalrie Joseph.
• Here's Nicol's team (4-4-1-1): Matt Reis - Kevin Alston, Darrius Barnes, Emmanuel Osei (Kenny Mansally 75), Jay Heaps - Wells Thompson, Jeff Larentowicz, Pat Phelan (Kheli Dube 56), Sainey Nyassi (Michael Videira 90) - Steve Ralston - Edgaras Jankauskas. Substitutes Not Used: Mauricio Castro, Amaechi Igwe, Brad Knighton, Chris Tierney
TEAM NEWS
• An eight-game run that included five victories and two draws hauled the Revolution right back into the midst of the playoff race. However, back-to-back losses - their first since June 13-July 4 - have left the Revs three points out of the final playoff spot, though they have games in hand on all but one team ahead of them.
• "We were poor on the ball. There's no beating around the bush, we were poor on the ball, particularly in the first half," Nicol said. "We improved somewhat in the second half, but definitely in the first half on the ball we were really poor. When you're coughing the ball up and giving the ball away you're always going to be under pressure, and we did it too often and too easily."
• The Revs conceded the opening goal to Kansas City after just three minutes, and then conceded the opening goal to Chivas after 10 minutes.
• "The last few games we started poorly. I think we should be the kind of team that for the first 30 minutes we fight really hard until the game settles down, and the last two weeks we've been down [early], so it's something we have to address for sure," said defender Jay Heaps.
• After missing a game through a right leg contusion, Matt Reis returned between the posts and was called upon to make eight saves. "I thought the goalie [Matt Reis] was good today. He looked very comfortable, he was never in trouble, he had a few long-range saves to make and he made them look very comfortable," Nicol said.
• Shalrie Joseph was suspended for the match, meaning the Revolution are have two losses and a draw from the three games he had missed, not having scored a goal in any of them.
• "We have to respond," Heaps said. "It's a conference game. It's huge at their place. We have to get back to Boston, get settled in and work on a couple of things. We really have to get after them."
