Red Bulls 1 – Chivas 0 : Boring Game, Much Needed Win

By: Dave Martinez | June 6th, 2008

The past few days have been a roller coaster of excitement for many Red Bulls fans, what with the sale of Jozy, and incoming rumors of summer transfers. One would expect that this energy would carry over to the team, and that a generally quiet Giants Stadium would have been rocking with fans for a nationally televised Prime Time game.

Guess again.

The play, through long stretches, was uninspired, and frankly boring on both sides of the ball. The crowd was barely over 9,000 people. And yes, Jozy did not make a cameo for the game, as predicted.

It is worth noting, though, that the team showed something today I haven’t seen in a while: the entire game, they were sitting back. They scored a goal with 15 minutes left, and suddenly, they start attacking like a well oiled machine. Funny. They usually just sit back after a lead. Found that interesting.

But anyway. 3 points is 3 points. That is the Osorio mantra – it doesn’t matter how ugly the win as long as the team is collecting points along the way. And with that said, they step back above the .500 mark.

MAN OF THE MATCH

It was a definitive team effort. Yes, Richards was persistent on the right wing, and Vandie was playing inspired on the left. And Jon Conway was solid in nets once again. But Juan Pablo Angel suffered the entire game as the lone striker, at times just pacing the top of the field, waiting for service. The lone chance he had in the first half was shanked – a very uncharacteristic attempt by Juanpi. But the minute a golden cross was sent over by Dane Richards, he knew exactly what to do with it. A flick of the head later, and Angel seals the deal for the Bulls. Solid performance.

TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH

As I said above, once “Good Luck Charm” Wolyniec was inserted into the lineup, and Angel nets himself that golden header, the team began attacking. Alot. And it was a nice change from the snorefest that was the first 75 minutes of play.

WHAT THE *!&!&#! MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Dane Richards and Mendoza were having a beautiful battle all game. Admittedly, Mendoza did get the upper hand on Dane 95% of the time. But when Dane turned the corner off a pass from Stammler, and dashed past Mendoza’s backside to the keeper, only to miss by mere inches on the left hand side . . . wow. And to see the same thing happen again, only this time, it was Van Den Bergh missing far right was mesmorizing. Luckily, Angel hit that goal – if not? This game review would have been far worse.

SPECIAL ED PLAYER OF THE MATCH

The only person out there that seemed to be a square peg trying to get into a tiny round hole was Andrew Boyens. Maybe he needs more time to gel with the defense, or maybe he is just the second coming of Taylor Graham – tall, lanky and awkward.

In all fairness, though, he did not cost us the game with his play, so why name him the special ed player? I think, for a second week in a row, and after two weeks of lackluster play, the midfield deserves a lot of scrutiny for their poor performance. No one player was more rotten than the next. Save the last 10 minutes of play, the midfield was once again no where to be found. Danleigh would make great runs and pull an Eddie Johnson, stop and move lateral. Dane Richards, though showing signs of brilliance, was held down by Mendoza the majority of the game. Stammler was basically falling back on defense to cover the new Boyens/Parke tandem. Van Den Bergh was near invisible, but that may also be a tactical casualty since most of the play seemed to be moving on the right hand side. And my man Mike Magee was unfortunately a none-factor. For a second week in a row, its the midfield.

A win is a win. And that is the Osorio philosophy. With that mind set, we should really hang our collective hats on this victory, and breathe a sigh of relief. Though its early in the season, this would have been a calamitous loss. A victory breathes life into a floundering team, for at least another week, which is all Osorio needs – with Jozy’s departure, points are at a premium and of utmost importance until that summer transfer window opens. With the right moves, and points to boot, a bleak season can quickly change its complexion.