RBNY 5 - GALAXY 4! HISTORIC NITE RECAPPED!

By: Dave Martinez | August 20th, 2007

I am blankly staring at my screen wondering WHERE CAN I BEGIN?

Ah, what a blissful writers block!

The crowd was electric, and in mass, intelligent, rooting for their home team, and laying some scattered BOOOOO birds onto King David.

The atmosphere was thick and pliable. You could taste the energy.

What a night.

This was, by far, the best game in our young franchise history. Though Barcelona was quite the spectacle, and we always beat Munich, this game was different; not only did the masses come to see Beckham . . . but they also came to see THE RED BULLS BEAT HIS TEAM.

THE GOOD

Check out this clip as you read on . . . . I feel reliving the thing whilest reading always helps!

THE FANS

With a crowd on hand of 66,237 people STRONG, the Red Bulls fans and the tri state area gave the MLS a HUGE shot in the arm - THIS is how you support your local club! Granted, perhaps 1/10th of them will be there for our next home game, but this much is true - their perspective of what the MLS is all about has changed.

Tom Arnold was there! Need I say more?!

Major props to the ESC . . . they were electric. And that is not to discount RB Nation or Kearney, but ESC bought the noise, rocked the house, and gave the game a true FOOTBALL feel.

I pray the momentum continues. I fear it wont.

But for one night, the fans made up our 12th man on the field.

MATHIS

First off, I have to say, MATHIS was the CHARACTER of this club tonite. Shot after shot, we saw the CLEETUS of old (sans the beer breathe). He was in Beckhams face, he was unloading all night, and finding the right areas to work from. AND THAT GOAL!!!!! TOP left corner, ROCKET shot - unbelievable. And he set up the game winner practically!

AND NOT TO MENTION THAT HE IS NOW OUR CLUBS ALL TIME LEADING GOALSCORER!!!!!

Look, this man is comeback player of the year, hands down.

And you know what else? He should get another look. And you know what I am talking about . . .

JP ANGEL and ALTIDORE

These guys need to share a review, much as they shared that pitch tonite. Each player proved to be BEASTLY up top, as the double and triple coverage on one always led to a goal or a chance for the other. The shot desparity can be explained right here, with these two at the helm. This tandem has always had the ability to gel and become a monster - but now, it is finally happening.

Angel = Clutch. Teach it in math class, its that true. What a game winner! And that is what a goal scorer does - never give up on the ball. He deserved to wear that armband tonite.

Altidore . . . well . . . maybe one more year of his magic, and the Red Bulls will be waving GOODBYE as Jozy heads to Europe to DOMINATE. But until then, we can watch this wonderful 17 year old man child school American Soccer on how its done . . . Jozy needs a look with the nats as well. He is that good.

Just scroll back up and watch the videos again. Remind your self. They were THAT good.

DVB and RICHARDS

These guys were my targets numero uno earlier this month, citing the deficiencies we were experiencing from our wing play.

Richards was atrocious. DVB was a ghost.

But my, how things have changed.

First off, Richards must have turned on the LEARN TO PLAY WITH MARADONA VHS. THAT GUY WAS DRIBBLING like there was NOOO tommorrow! What a display! He was drawing 2, 3 people a play, and he too was able to open up the field for Jozy and Angel. I mean, look at the feed to Mathis on that goal! This kid has come a LOOOOONG way for us, and he is only building his stock with the Jamaican national team.

And Van Den Bergh. Cleets up on David Beckham?! Someone is trying to make an impression, thats for damn sure. Vandie is proving to be the player we all expected - and he is adding some unexpected grit to boot!

These guys have both shown that they belong, STARTING, for this team. And I am behind ‘em both, 100%.

JOE VIDE

Much like Sampson, Joe Vides power only grows larger as his hair grows longer. I am the most ardent Dema supporter there is, but Vide has been playing so well in his spot, that one tends to forget there was any one else BUT Vide playing the center spot. He distributes nicely. He picks excellent spots, and makes aggressive runs at the opposition, many times, with reckless abandon.

I am becoming a big fan of this kid. Though Dema will still win back his starting spot, Vide has shown MORE than capable of filling in his shoes.

PROPS to the OPPOSITION (well, some of em)

BECKHAM. Without those amazing crosses all night, the LA attack would have been dead in the water. Everytime he was behind a place kick, I think I may have passed a nervous gas or two.

DONOVAN. He never stopped playing. And he made our defense look silly.

PAVON. What a THREATENING PRESENCE at the top of their attack. Gotta give credit where its due - the man was making our players look BAD.

LA PLAYER OF THE GAME - CANNON. I hate to say it, but this guy is probably the best in the league. He is ballsy, he makes amazing saves, and he is a field general (though a nutbag at the same time) as the goalkeeper. Those goals werent his fault. He played an amazing game. The save on Altidore alone was ESPN worthy.

MY PREDICTIONS

Check out my previous article - and tell me all of that DIDNT happen the other nite. This is what RBNY needed. And I am a VISIONARY!

THE BAD

REYNA

He wasnt on the field. And I would have loved to see him play in this type of high energy, high impact game.

THE DEFENSE

5-4 may be the thing soccer fans want to see, but GOD HELP YOU if your a pee wee coach bringing your team to THAT game, in an effort to emphasis the importance of D - because it seems to have been left out of both teams playbooks.

Some people have jumped the gun, praising the 2 week old combo of Stammler / Parke in the middle. Some have even said we are “set” with Freeman and Leitch playing our corners.

Lets face it - we were swiss cheesed up last night.

Our wing backs were getting schooled by Lando and Becks, our centers were being turned like a Tango, and our Goalie may have well played the tin man from The Wizard of Oz - someone needs to lube up his joints! He looked RUSTY out there. Perplexed even.

Bottom line? This game emphasised our DIRE need to get defensive help. Dip into foreign markets, establish partnerships down south - whatever. But we need someone. And Tony Sanneh AINT AN OPTION!

THE UGLY

PAVON - CUT THROAT

At 2-1, Pavon decides to play Landons role and Cut Throat the crowd. How much do you think he regrets it now?

BOTH DEFENSES (except for Joe Cannon)

Need i say more? Read above damnit!

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IN THE END . . . . .

Look, overall, the Red Bulls controlled the entire game. It felt like some championship was on the line, and I liked that aspect of things - it means that the team is taking our late season run serious, and that they understood the magnitude of performing tonite.

Arena let loose, much like he did against Barcelona last year, for the good of the sport. THAT IS WHY ARENA GETS EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS AND PROPS FOR THIS GAME TONITE!!!! He is always the first to get the blame. Tonite, he gets all the credit.

BRUCE BRUCE HES OUR MAN
IF HE CANT DO IT, NO ONE CAN

Cheezy and lacking creativity, its not exactly ESC worthy, but eh, its a shot.

We did what we had to do in order to #1, win, and #2, entertain. And that was the mission.

Best of all? Our fans support was there for METRO. The boos reigned down on Beckham all night, and I loved it. Not because I hate Beckham, but because U.S. fans are finally starting to get it. GO RED BULL!

This win is dedicated to Alexi Lalas. Nice suit.