Following New York’s start to the season has been similar to betting on a three legged horse at the racetrack. Every time the team seems to stand itself up again and lunges forward, it stumbles flat on its face. It also doesn’t help that the jockey is 6 foot 2 and from Brooklyn.
Last Saturday’s performance only reiterated that analogy. The team started with a strong set of offensive plays, Thierry Henry twice set up Bradley Wright Phillips with Sam sending in crosses from the right wing. But after just twenty minutes, the horse once again crumbled under its own weight, and New York was on the back foot as Colorado returned fire with pacey counter attacks. Though the Red Bulls had the game stolen from them by a horrible refereeing decision, they certainly did not deserve the win. In the opening home game of the season, they had an astounding 2 shots on goal compared to Colorado’s 6. An optimist may call that efficiency, but it really encapsulates what went wrong throughout the game.
The Heroes
It’s easy to point out all the faults of the game, but you don’t get a 1-0 lead without a few well performing players. Robles was invincible as usual, making multiple acrobatic saves but failing to stop the well-taken penalty by Sanchez. The defense was an interesting combination. The Spanish newcomer Armando is reminiscent of a fiercer Olave, often making key slide tackles in the defensive third and using his sheer physicality further up the field. Miller also showed that he deserves a second (or fiftieth) chance, his offensive overlap and crisp passes with Convey were astounding to the point that it’s likely that both the players developed a psychic connection with one another. Olave was his big old loveable self, making key interceptions all over the field. The interesting thing to watch about the defense going forward is that the three players who performed outstandingly this game are all Hispanic. Cliques are common in the locker room, and there’s nothing better than having a back line who can speak to one another in their native language. For that reason, expect this trio to start most games.
On the offense, Thierry Henry demonstrated once again why he gets paid the big bucks. The Frenchman not only led the team, but was the deciding factor after a header nutmegged Colorado’s keeper for the first goal of the game. On the wing, Sam used his speed and pinged in clever crosses, but with Convey often absent on the left side, his attacks began to get predictable. Nevertheless, he gets the assist for the opening goal and was pivotal in the side’s victory.
The Failures
It’s rare that Tim Cahill and Dax McCarty are ever mentioned without praise, but they were the weakest link in today’s game. Colorado often kept possession throughout the match because both failed to fight for 50/50 opportunities and second balls. They allowed New York to get trumped in the center of the field, which prevented more fluid and consistent attacking play. Cahill drew off defenders to give Henry a free header for the opening goal but was otherwise invisible and was being pushed almost to a defensive midfield position. The normally unstoppable Aussie was being crowded out by opponents, and the ferocity behind his play was missing. Though Dax did have some good defensive plays, he didn’t bring together the team like he usually does in his playmaker’s role.
On the offense, Bradley Wright Phillips failed to make an impact past the first 20 minutes of the game. He often didn’t contribute to plays and didn’t track back too far to make a difference elsewhere. Convey had an okay game at best, on one hand he has certainly stolen a spot from Steel in the starting eleven, but he often got crowded out by defenders and didn’t create more than one lucky chance. For such a big name MLS veteran, he has yet to show his true prowess on the field.
Defensively, Eckersley gave way much like the first match of the season. He moved forward alongside Lloyd Sam well, but most of the time he was struggling to clear balls in the defense, preferring to dangerously pass them along to Olave or Armando. In essence, he was losing possession, in the worst part of the field, for no reason. Though utility player Kosuke Kimura is always a fit option, there’s a question whether anyone can truly match the work rate of the departed Brandon Barklage on the right side and whether this will create problems going forward.
Altogether, the squad was okay going forward and somewhat lackadaisical in the midfield and defense. Compared to the play of Colorado, a full strength New York would have won the game decisively. A strong Rapids backline could barely handle the pressure the first half, and an extra push by the midfield could have easily gotten Red Bulls an early lead. It’s yet to be seen if New York’s losses over the summer will hinder their progress, but going forward Petke will have to rally the broken team and hope that this season doesn’t have the same problems as the last.
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