Five games into their 2006 campaign, the New York Red Bulls have yet to take the three points for a win. Instead, the Red Bulls have had to settle for a single point in four of those matches, the latest coming from a scoreless draw with Chivas USA Saturday night at The Home Depot Center.
The result left the Red Bulls with mixed emotions.
"Coming in here and getting a point was disappointing because we wanted three points but I'll take a point on the road," said Red Bulls boss Mo Johnston.
"It was disappointing (because) of some of the chances that we didn't take and (Chivas) probably feels the same way."
Red Bulls goalkeeper Tony Meola, who had seven saves on the night, was more optimistic with the result.
"The point comes at a time when we need a win but we've not been down on the road yet so it's a good result," he said. "There are obviously a couple of things we think we can correct but all in all you have to be happy when you come out of an away game with no goals against because it gives you a chance to win."
Outside of a furious 10-minute span early in the second half, neither side threatened to score much during the match, combining for a dozen shots on goal. The inability of the Red Bulls to generate consistent offense was owed in large part to the mediocre performance of Honduran playmaker and former league MVP Amado Guevara.
"It's been a tough season for (Guevara)," said Johnston. "He's been up and down and missed a lot of the preseason, which has hurt him."
The Red Bulls also had to adjust their game plan before halftime when speedy forward Edson Buddle was forced to leave the match with a strained left hamstring. However, his replacement Mike Magee accounted for the Red Bulls closest scoring opportunity when in the 58th minute he had one shot bang off the crossbar and a second attempt sail just over the goal.
The addition of Magee changed the look of the Red Bulls attack, which relies heavily on the speed and power of Buddle.
"Mike can hold the ball and he's very good at playing one and two touch especially with (Youri Djorkaeff), but Edson adds something different," said Johnston. "He's strong, he's powerful and I felt that he was playing very well (before leaving the match)."
Defensively, the Red Bulls did well to bounce back from last week's 4-1 drubbing at the hands of D.C. United and shutout Chivas.
"They got at us pretty good in the second half for about a 10-minute stretch," said Meola. "There were a lot of plays where it looked dangerous but we were in good spots."
"You have to be able to defend for 90 minutes and we did that," added Johnston. "We weren't able to do that last week and we were an improved team tonight."
The Red Bulls defense did falter at times, though, giving Chivas several quality scoring opportunities from close range and forcing Meola to make point-blank saves.
"This game was lost without him," said Red Bulls defender Marvell Wynne. "Tony is amazing on the back making saves or just talking to the defense getting us organized and situated."
Added Johnston: "Tony has been tremendous all season. He's a great ambassador for this club and every time he puts on the jersey he works hard and he comes up with very important saves."
The Red Bulls now look ahead to a bye week before kicking off a three-match home stand against the Chicago Fire on May 13.
"The bye week comes at a good time for us," said Meola. "We'll have the opportunity to refresh our minds and I think we'll come back refreshed."
Djorkaeff also was optimistic after the tie.
"We just need our first victory and after that we will be good. We go home for three games and I'm very confident in our team."
Danny Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
