Sitting comfortably in second place in the Eastern Conference, New York have to be feeling good after Sunday night’s 1-1 result in Colorado. For a fourth time this season, the Red Bulls got a result on the road. Is 2009 now a distant memory?
The player ratings:
GK – Bouna Coundoul: The New York 'keeper made the saves he was supposed to and was hung out to dry on the lone goal he conceded. A busy night controlling the box, snagging crosses and snuffing out plays. A very good performance. Rating: 7.5
D – Chris Albright: The wet conditions seemed to cause Albright to struggle a bit, especially in his passing and delivering crosses, his forte. Did fine defensively; just a quiet night. Rating: 6
D – Carlos Mendes: Over the past three games, Mendes has stepped in nicely as a starter and looks fully fit. His positioning was solid, even with a porous midfield letting Colorado attackers in throughout the latter stages of the game. Rating: 7
D – Tim Ream: It was a lot of gritty, dirty work for Ream, who performed well. The deluge – we thought we saw the animals lining up two by two in the distance – prevented him from moving forward or distributing out of the back. Rating: 6
D – Danleigh Borman: Look up "solid" in the dictionary and you’ll see a photo of Borman this season. Another strong, resilient effort by Borman on Sunday night. Rating: 6.5
M – Dane Richards: Just three weeks removed from a hamstring injury, Richards went the full 90. He put in plenty of hard work, and he got involved in the offense a bit. Should hit his stride soon with some more touches this week in practice. Gutsy effort in his comeback to play the full match. Rating: 7
M – Seth Stammler: Quiet night for the central midfielder, who had enjoyed a recent string of strong performances. Stammler didn’t get involved much offensively and defensively was caught out of position as the game wore on. Rating: 5.5
M – Joel Lindpere: Lots of quiet work typified Lindpere’s night, but the central midfielder didn’t get much of the ball in the offensive third. He did battle and made smart distribution. Rating: 6
M – Tony Tchani: There were flashes from the rookie, who showed composure and skill with a touch of guile. But his tactical acumen needs to grow and his positioning must improve. His work rate must also go up if he wants to be a 90-minute player. Rating: 5.5
M – Sinisa Ubiparipovic: His giveaway in the 14th minute led to Colorado’s goal, but he redeemed himself with a nice delivery on the corner kick. Struggled to find the flow of the game. Rating: 5.5
F – Juan Pablo Angel: Deft touch and even better finishing marked his first-half goal. Seems like Angel has found his old scoring habit. Had another good opportunity or two but didn’t have the time or support to make it count. Rating: 7
Substitutions:
F – Salou Ibrahim: Came in the second half to see the formation change to a 4-4-2 but did little with Angel up top. He was relentless in his work rate, but his efforts yielded nada. Rating: 5.5
M – Roy Miller: Late game sub helped clamp down in the final third. Good positioning and soccer smarts from Miller. Rating: 6
D – Mike Petke: Entry into the game was too late to warrant a rating. Next time, Mike.
Kristian R. Dyer can be reached for comment at KristianRDyer@yahoo.com and followed at twitter.com/kdyer1012
