POSTGAME: Make that Eleven - Red Bulls 1 - 1 New England

By: Dave Martinez | April 19th, 2008

A tale of two halves is an expression that has probably been used and abused more than my favorite pair of socks. But how else can you describe tonites debacle?

The first half was dynamic, the second, sporadic. And as a result, the Bulls extend their winless streak to 11 games against The Revs.

To be fair though, I would have to blame alot of that on the referees who were clearly seeing a game no one else saw. There were so many calls against the Red Bulls that it became an absurdity. I am sure College kids everywhere were inventing their own “Ricardo Salazar Ridiculous call, take a shot” drinking game. Horrendous. Truly.

And granted, Angel reaggravated his injury and Reynas knee was inflammed.

But that is making excuses. And I am not one for it. No matter how valid . . . the fact remains the team had a long advantage and was not able to capitalize.

Osorio utilized a 4-4-2 that quickly became a 3-5-2 on the offensive, with an attacking Chris Leitch manning the right lines from post to post. And it worked fairly effective. As a matter of fact, it was probably overwhelming an under prepared Revolution squad.

But halftime came, Nichols made his strategic changes, and New England came out better prepared. A Castro red card for kicking Goldthwaite, and the Revolution began to bunker down with defensive changes and strategy. The Bulls did some knocking towards the end of the game, led by Jon Wolyniec and Altidore, to no avail.

Here are this weeks winners:

MAN OF THE MATCH

Matt Reis was a beast. Period. End of discussion. How many times did he rob the Bulls tonite? Come now. He was a main reason for this valuable road point that they did not deserve by any means. Matt Reis should get an award for tonites performance. Way to keep you head with the barrages you faced.

On the converse side, if I had to pick a Bull, Jozy Altidore. Last week, Jozy received so much blame for not producing in the absence of Juan Pablo Angel. And throughout the second half, though he was being directly targeted, he did create chances whenever he could. But you have to admire the way Jozy made Igwe look ridiculous. That one will be in highlights for a while. Beautiful goal.

TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH

The red card that sent Castro off. And for all the wrong reasons. After that well deserved card, kicking Goldthwaite for no reason, the team played a more laid back style, awaiting opportunity. When they finally attacked, they faced a New England squad in excellent form, unchallenged and fresh. The last minute urgency, though effective to an extent, did not produce any goals or success. Wolyniec nearly pulled off some heroics, as did Altidore, and they were both rather fairly robbed. Nevertheless, its imperative this team develop more of a killer instinct if they wish to advance in this years race to the Cup.

WHAT THE?! MOMENT OF THE MATCH

That Jozy Altidore neck krackin’ of Igwe. Wow. He turned him inside out, and beat Reis to the near corner. He should send that goal overseas to every major club, with a simple note attached - “Almost Available . . . “

SPECIAL ED PLAYER OF THE MATCH

This week is special. Very special. For one Man. And his friends.

Ricardo Salazar. And his crew.

Why a ref should blow a game single handedly is beyond me. And the amount of errors were too numerous to recount. I was just disgusted by the lack of clarity in tonites calls. A kick just outside the box, for what?! That was gift wrapped for New England. Period.

And just to let everyone know, Carlos Mendes came back from exile tonite and played a productive game. He looked incredibley tired afterwards, but I am sure he gave a little extra tonite. Someone is always watching.

Take care y’all.