Better, But Bitter: RBNY 1 – Revolution 1

By: Dave Martinez | March 29th, 2009

Are you a half glass empty or glass half full kind of fan? That is really what it boils down to, as the Bulls valiently held onto a 1-0 lead until Shalrie Joseph sprung Kenny Mansally for a crushing goal in the 90th minute to draw things up and close them out.

The Curse of New England continues . . .

To their credit, and compared to the completely disorganized side that Seattle dominated last week, the Bulls did improve their game significantly this week. They started off slightly flat to start the first half, but did create more fluidity in play as the game unravelled. Credit must go to a few players, particularly Macoumba Kandji, who was very creative and deceptive on the ball, played like a true big man, and showed his commitment not only to the offensive side of the ball, but the defensive as well. Danny Cepero made some immense saves throughout the night, especially in the first half, that kept the Bulls in the game. Carlos Mendes, who never truly gets the credit he deserves, was also very solid. He has been the most consistent player at CB for the Bulls so far. Remember, he and Parke were quite the tandem for a while, and Mendes played a vital roll as a stopper. And his partner, Kevin Goldthwaite, was also very good tonight, even with a tweeked ankle. Sure, Mansally burned him on that final goal, but that was more an absolutely indefensable precision pass to the forwards noggin’ than the error of the slower Goldie. And Jeremy Hall was once again a stand out. His composure on the ball is spectacular.

The Revolution continue to have the Bulls number. But the Bulls did put up a livlier performance. Now the question begs to be asked; Will the reinforcements come in time for Chicago?

MAN OF THE MATCH: Macoumba Kandji. Kandji was this games offensive engine, looking every bit the #10 that he wears on his jersey. He played well on both sides of the ball, and looked like a Bull out there. “The Bull” Mac Kandji . . . . it has a ring to it . . . .

TURNING POINT: Shalrie Joseph spins, uses his implanted satellite GPS device, and hits Mansally with a perfect pass to tie this bad boy up.

SPECIAL ED PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Jay Heaps. The Bulls thank you for the assist.

Click here for my pictures of the game, on Facebook.

Some Related Red Bulls Posts:

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nolayuprule

Honestly this was NyRBs in a nutshell.

Looked outmatched in the first half but through strong character, hard work and a hell of a lot of luck {big respect to Cepero for saving the clean sheet the first half} we managed to hold our own.

Then a very non-RBNY thing happened and we actually got lucky on offense landing that own goal.

Too good to be true.

The 2nd half is also pure RBNY. We dominated and had most of the opportunities even though the revulsion looked tough. Then they equalize in the 90th min. Pure RBNY.

Ill say a few comments though;

Kandji is looking great and all the comparisons to Altidore are real nice to hear.

Smith and Oduro looked solid.

Didnt miss Rojas at all. Did Peirtavallo even play?

Defense looked much stronger without Boynes but Ill welcome him back anyway.

Cepro looked strong

Angel cant get service to save our lives. Its astounding to me that the best striker in the league has to create for himself and is tipple teamed with impunity.

This has to change asap. we are not in a place where we can dominate the midfield or shut teams out with our defense. we need better service to our strikers and we need better counters.

Hers hoping that every game we improve as dramatically as we did between these two
dave martinez

Igarzone - Sec 11 row 6 seats 7-8
dave martinez

Kandji impressed you last week Laurie? He wasnt close to what he could be. Last night was a better indication.

Pico - I agree a bit with Richards. I still think that it is his spot to lose, but his decision making does baffle a person, especially when he insists on calling out his own number on break out plays.

Musab - STAY AWAY!!!!!!!!!! ;)

And has anyone noticed that Juan Pablo Angels touch has yet to catch up with him? He had a couple of looks that, in the past, would have been touch and strike.
Tommy Wong

Kandji was impressive, but I felt like he was a bit selfish on the ball when in the final 1/3rd. There were a number of situations where I would have liked to have seen him pass.
Laurie

Also, Khandji impressed me last week against us in Seattle. Not in a "this guy is amazing" kind of way, but more in an "I'm going to be watching this guy" kind of way.
Laurie

Musab, I'm thinking you're hereby banned from going to New York's games.
Musab

Whenever I go to New York's games they always concede at the last minute...
CUCS

Cepero scares me a bit still. He did not look comfortable handling the back pass. Maybe it's because he knows how tricky that turf is. I can't wait until they are in their own stadium. It would have been packed with last nights crowd.
lgarzone

just curious, what section were you sitting in?
Phil

that gutted me but kandji looked awesome out there and leaving rojas out like he did last year was a great idea and 4-4-2 ofcourse
gianfranco

chris I am with you on the workrate sense, but he needs to put it all together. Once he does that it will be sweet.
Pico

Dave, no comments...

OK. If you ask. While I agree mostly with your assessment, let me add a couple of things.

Dane Richards' has very little or nothing in terms of football instincts. Granted, the man is fast but his decision making leaves a lot to be desired. He took himself out play a couple of times last night, and he is useless with his left foot. I think once Johnson joins the RB, Jeremy Hall should take his place. Or Mbuta.

Khano Smith has the touch of a cinder block and he was lucky on the score. His cross service was atrocious at least.

Ubi had a better game and I liked it that he charged forward with intent a couple of times. He only needs a long range shot because he had at least one opportunity to do so.

Lastly, Kandji seems to have an idea of what he wants to do when he gets the ball. I like the fact that once he gets the ball, he keeps it down on the ground and tries to start play, flashy or not.

Cheers
Chris

gianfranco, i dont know what game you were watching but kandji didn't just do flashy step overs. He had a couple blasts at the net that were only stopped by great saves. He had an incredible work rate, showed alot of strenth and an excellent first touch. He pretty much single-handedly created the first goal.
Laurie

Heartbreak. I hate endings like that.
Gianfranco

Dave, I think offensively the team is still lacking, there is no real connection from the mids to the attack especially when JPA is fully marked out. Kandji did very well, but you dont win matches on flashy touches and step overs. Rojas should add some attacking depth and take pressure off JPA and if Kanji continues then things will fall into place. Defensively a great game with Hall really showing his worth, I geuss it was good build from the poor game previously, but still need more...also Smith is no DVB, but he showed some class which hopefully gets better.
MasterShake

i need to rewatch the game...i spent the whole game with my back to it :( or :)
Chris

Ya I think this was a glass half full game. The team started to show some flashes of the track team we expected. For having Rojas, Celedas, and Pacheco out they played very well and were unlucky not to have scored a second goal. I still think they are a few games away from being full strength, next game they will have less then a week to all practice together. Angel to me still doesn't look completly fit and I hear the same about Celedas. Hopefully we don't get too far behind before they start clicking.