Carolina Challenge Cup: Clint Plays, Houston Fail to Swoon in Awe

Well drat. I don’t know about you, but I was hoping the mere aura of the (Once) Great Clint Mathis would cause teams to tremble and fall away, leaving RBNY with win after win. Sadly, based on Mathis’ triumphant return — 45 minutes against Houston in the final game of the Carolina Challenge Cup on Saturday — this will not be the case. Back to the old drawing board, then, Bruce.

Reports on the game, which RBNY lost 2-1, indicate Red Bull dominated the midfield through the first 45 minutes, exhibiting good passing and possession but, as usual, failed to finish. We went ahead on an early goal by Dave van den Bergh, but it sounds like it was due as much to Houston’s temporary ineptitude in the back as RBNY’s own creativity or finishing prowess. (Unusually for this preseason, NY started in 4-4-2, with Jozy and Wolly up top together, and Seth Stammler once again playing an experimental centerback.) Later, true to form, Dema was sent off for a second yellow but, given that this was a friendly and all, RBNY were allowed to return to full strength for the second 45. In the second half, Mathis came on for Wolly and RBNY returned to the familiar 4-5-1 system. Unfortunately, Houston woke up at that point and dominated the last 30 minutes, zipping through our shaky defense and scoring twice to win the game and the tournament. Doh!

In good news, the official club website claims Red Bull were led in the second half by the “inspired play of Clint Mathis,” but they’re hardly a reliable, unbiased source, so I’m not convinced about just how brilliant he was. The folks at Big Soccer insist he’s less than fat than they expect, though, so that’s something.

[Image by YCJ]

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Category: Red Bulls, Results, Team News