Columbus Crew vs. New York Red Bulls | MLS Match Preview

COLUMBUS CREW vs NEW YORK RED BULLS
COLUMBUS CREW STADIUM, Columbus, Ohio
April 26, 2014 (WEEK 8, MLS Game #68)
7:30 p.m. ET (TWCSN-OH; MSG)

A top-of-the-table clash in the Eastern Conference is ahead on Saturday evening as the Columbus Crew play host to the New York Red Bulls. The Crew still lead the division, as they have since day one of the season, despite seeing their winless run at three games following a last-gasp 1-1 draw with D.C. United last week. The Red Bulls are just a point in back of the Crew after rolling to a second consecutive win at midweek, a 4-0 home defeat of the Houston Dynamo.

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REFEREE: Geoff Gamble. SAR (bench): George Gansner; JAR (opposite): Gianni Facchini; 4th: Edvin Jurisevic
MLS Career: 23 games; FC/gm: 23.4; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 4; pens: 10

SUSPENDED: CLB: Bernardo Anor (through April 27)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: NY: Armando
DISABLED LIST: CLB: Matthew Wiet
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (57 meetings): Crew 24 wins, 68 goals … Red Bulls 25 wins, 78 goals … Ties 8
AT COLUMBUS (29 meetings): Crew 15 wins, 39 goals … Red Bulls 11 wins, 38 goals … Ties 3
RETURN MATCHES: 7/12: New York Red Bulls vs. Columbus Crew, 7 p.m. ET; 10/19: New York Red Bulls vs. Columbus Crew, 3 p.m. ET

LAST YEAR (MLS)
5/4: CLB 0, NY 1 (Cahill (80)
5/26: NY 2, CLB 2 (Henry 31; Olave 91+ -- Oduro 2; Higuain 74)
8/10: CLB 2, NY 0 (Higuain 62, 76)

• The Crew took a 2-0 victory in the final meeting between the teams last season, Aug. 10 at Crew Stadium, their first victory against the Red Bulls since the 2010 season. The Red Bulls had gone 3-0-3 in the six meetings in the series in between.
• The Red Bulls had a three-game undefeated streak alive at Crew Stadium, dating back to 2010, before the Crew win in the final meeting last year.
• The last Crew victory at the Red Bulls was also in 2010, a 3-1 victory in the first meeting ever at Red Bull Arena.
• Coaches record: Gregg Berhalter vs. NY: first game … Mike Petke vs. CLB: P3 W1 L1 T1

COLUMBUS CREW

The Columbus Crew recorded their second consecutive draw, hitting for a late equalizer to grab a 1-1 result with D.C. United on Saturday evening at Crew Stadium. The Crew sit in a tie atop the Eastern Conference, with 11 points from six matches.

LAST MATCH

• United took the lead against the run of play in the 31st minute, when Nick DeLeon took off on a breakaway behind the Crew midfield. DeLeon found a streaking Fabian Espindola to his left, who fired a high shot past Steve Clark in the Crew goal.
• The Crew were a man down in the 81st minute when Bernardo Anor was sent off by referee Juan Guzman with a straight red card after a rash two-footed challenge on United midfielder Perry Kitchen.
• But it was the home side which snatched another dramatic late-game goal as Crew midfielder Hector Jimenez beat Andrew Dykstra with a curling shot from just outside the area on the left in the 90th minute.
• Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter made no changes to his team for a third consecutive match, maintaining the group that claimed a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium.
• COLUMBUS CREW (4-2-3-1): Steve Clark - Josh Williams, Michael Parkhurst, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Waylon Francis (Justin Meram 62) - Wil Trapp, Tony Tchani (Ethan Finlay 78) - Hector Jimenez, Federico Higuain, Bernardo Anor (ejected 81) - Dominic Oduro (Jairo Arrieta 63).

TEAM NEWS

• The Crew saw their winless streak reach three games following back-to-back wins to open the season, but salvaged a late point with their second consecutive draw.
• “A result in that game was looking grim, and they were really tight and defensive oriented and we went down a man,” said Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter. “But, the guys didn’t quit and I commend them on that. I said we have to get better, but that effort not to give up in that game and get something out of that game, to me, was spectacular.”
• Hector Jimenez scored his first goal with the Crew for the equalizer vs. D.C. Jimenez’s last MLS goal had come last July 7, with the LA Galaxy.
• “We didn’t have a great start going down 1-0. I love that we took the challenge, and didn’t back down from the physical game that was going on. I am really proud of the team, and hopefully a game like this will carry us on throughout the season,” said Jimenez.
• Once again, Berhalter maintained his starting XI; he has still used just 12 players as starters. But there will almost certainly be a new addition vs. New York after Bernardo Anor was sent off late in the United match and will be suspended.
• There was an interesting shift just after the hour mark, when Justin Meram came on for Waylon Francis. Meram played the wide left midfield role with Anor moving back to left back.
• “It was just something where I felt to put more of an attacking option at left back with Bernardo [Anor], could give us a little something where we had to risk something,” Berhalter said. “So we put Justin [Meram] in Bernardo’s position, we moved Bernardo back, and I thought that could really get us some threat inside the final third and we were going to send our backs forward anyway. So we had more of an attacking player in that position.”
• It was a fourth consecutive start in attack for Dominic Oduro, the only previous change in Berhalter’s starting lineup as he and Jairo Arrieta have traded off as the lone striker. Arrieta came on for Oduro in the 63rd minute.
• “With Jairo, [he’s] been looking good at training all week and I thought Dominic [Oduro] was a little bit off and like most guys were,” Berhalter said. “So I thought this was a good opportunity to get Jairo into the game, and I thought they did well. I think all three subs in this game did well for us.”
• Wil Trapp collected his second assist of the season, his first since March 22. Trapp was called into the U.S. U-20 national team training camp, but a hamstring injury will keep him from reporting.
• "That was a real play," Berhalter said. "That's why he is who he is. That was amazing. First of all, he recovers on Espindola, then he takes the ball from him, then he drives I don't know how long, then he makes a pass. That's a real play by a real player."

NEW YORK RED BULLS

The New York Red Bulls won their second consecutive game in impressive fashion, strolling to a 4-0 win against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday evening at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls sit in third place in the Eastern Conference with 10 points from eight matches on the season.

LAST MATCH

• The Red Bulls were in front just 12 minutes into the match. Kosuke Kimura found a free-roaming Thierry Henry down the right flank, and he then sent in a low cross that Bradley Wright-Phillips directed home from the center of the six-yard box.
• Another good sequence 12 minutes later put the Red Bulls two in front. Roy Miller won a 50-50 ball from a Henry pass down the left flank before picking out Wright-Phillips at the near post for a one-touch finish.
• It was 3-0 for the Red Bulls in the 65th minute when Henry scored with ease, driving the ball into an unguarded net from the heart of the area after Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall pushed a cross into his path.
• The rout was completed in the 85th minute when Wright-Phillips converted a penalty kick to complete his hat trick, after Henry was bowled over in the penalty area by Dynamo winger Tony Cascio.
• Red Bulls boss Mike Petke made one change to the team that claimed a 2-1 win against Philadelphia Union at Red Bull Arena. Armando came into the back for the suspended Ibrahim Sekagya.
• NEW YORK RED BULLS (4-3-1-2): Luis Robles - Kosuke Kimura, Jamison Olave, Armando, Roy Miller - Lloyd Sam (Ruben Bover 83), Dax McCarty, Eric Alexander - Peguy Luyindula (Jonny Steele 69) - Thierry Henry, Bradley Wright-Phillips (Connor Lade 92+).

TEAM NEWS

• For the second time in the last three league meetings, the Red Bulls hammered the Dynamo for four goals. It matches the heaviest defeat in Dynamo club history (three occurrences; the Red Bulls have two); New York has scored 11 goals in the last three league games vs. Houston.
• “It was a great result, some of the best soccer that we’ve played for sure this year,” Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke said. “I have faith in my players and I believe in their ability. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say you show up now wondering which team is going to show up and [Wednesday] the team that showed up did exactly what we expect them to do.”
• Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his first career MLS hat trick, his first multiple-goal game in 14 league appearances for the Red Bulls. He was the first Red Bulls player to hit for a hat trick since Thierry Henry did it on March 31, 2012 in a 5-2 win over Montreal.
• “It’s not easy to partner along someone like Thierry [Henry] and I mean that in a good way because Thierry is a guy that likes to drop and he’s so creative that a lot of times there’s only one guy up front,” New York head coach Mike Petke said. “It’s not an easy task for somebody. Bradley’s accepted that throughout this year and he knows he’s the guy that has to occupy the center backs for large chunks [of a game]. We thought it was only a matter of time before he got a goal and then got a bit hot, but three goals tonight? I didn’t see this coming. Nothing against his ability or anything, it’s just that’s not an easy thing to do, score a hat trick.”
• Wright-Phillips became the first English player in the history of Major League Soccer to score a hat trick. “Three goals is always good” said Wright-Phillips. “Even if I was playing with my friends anywhere, I’d be happy with three goals. I’m happy with a hat trick for the Red Bulls. It’s good.” Said Kosuke Kimura: “Definitely, we need a forward like him. Each team wants somebody who can run all day, sacrifices his body to get the ball for us, secure the ball. I’m a defender, I know. We hate it.”
• Henry scored a goal and added two assists, his fifth career multiple-assist game since coming to MLS. Henry has scored in back-to-back matches.
• Each fullback also contributed an assist, as left back Roy Miller and right back Kosuke Kimura each added their second assists of the season.
• “[It] was probably the best performance as far as that goes,” said Petke. “But still I think it was a bit too much at times. I think, especially in the first half, they both got a bit carried away and were up by the 18-yard box together, which left us a little bit vulnerable. But that’s exactly how we want to play. Is it always going to be pretty? Is it always going to work out? No, not at all. But if we have a starting point of our outside backs getting a bit higher and Dax [McCarty] dropping in, and we keep at it and it gets better and better, you’re going to get more of these games, I hope.”