On a windy day in Harrison, NJ, the New York Red Bulls had to come from behind twice to deny expansion side Montreal their first victory in MLS. Montreal started the game with a very high line of pressure and the Red Bulls found it hard to control the ball. NY fell into old habits quickly, playing the ball between the backline and having some miscues early on.
Montreal would strike first in the 19th minute after a failed clearance by Dane Richards and a whiff by Markus Holgersson at the top of the box. Sanna Nyassi raced onto the ball and beat keeper Ryan Meara to give the expansion side the early lead. 10 minutes later, Solli would play a short throw to Rafa Marquez who whipped the ball into the box towards Conde and Henry. Henry jumped between Montreal defenders Matteo Ferrari and Zarek Valentin and headed the ball past a diving Donovan Ricketts. Montreal would strike again a few minutes later, courtesy of Justin Mapp. Receiving a pass on the left flank, Mapp dribbled just atop the penalty area and was left unchallenged while he let a low shot fly and beat Ryan Meara near post. Meara could have done better with the shot but the blame truly stands with Holgersson and Solli who let Mapp have room to move that close to net. NY would press late in the half and a through ball to Dax McCarty, courtesy of Henry, would win NY a penalty after Ferrari took him down. Ferrari did win the ball, but in following, would scissor kick and take down Dax. Cooper would score the penalty to level the game 2-2 at half.
NY in the first half looked lost most of the time when they had possession and the defense seemed out of step on every play. Henry and Cooper were visibly frustrated up top with the lack of service. I lost count of how many times either striker made a motion to a teammate and then a run looking for a long ball to send them in on goal. Instead of the long ball after running off the shoulders of the defense, the strikers would turn their heads and hit the brakes to see a back pass or a small lateral pass being played. While NY cannot rely on long balls all season, there were a few times that Henry or Cooper would have been clear in on goal.
The second half would be a different story for both teams. Subbing of Marquez (groin strain) and bringing on Teemu Tainio helped NY settle the midfield. Dax McCarty also looked the most improved player from half to half. In the 56th minute, Dax would get on the end of a bad Zarek Valentin pass; almost run along the same path Mapp did in the first and feed Henry. Henry then turned and shot the ball between two defenders, beating Ricketts near post to give NY the 3-2 lead. NY would double its lead in the 72nd minute off of a great build up. Dane Richards played a through ball to Jan Gunnar Solli, who did well to avoid a sliding challenge, took the ball into the box along the touchline. He found Henry on the six-yard box and the Frenchmen put a nice touch on the ball towards Mehdi Ballouchy. Either from luck or skill, Ballouchy had a deft touch with the outside of his left foot to put the ball past Ricketts. NY would score its final goal, Henry’s third of the night, in the 89th minute off a rebound from a hard Kenny Cooper shot.
Montreal did not play a bad second half really. Donovan Ricketts had a very poor night in goal. Ryan Meara started off poor in net but finished strong. The difference for NY from the first to second half was Tainio coming in, and the back line staying in sync. I sit behind the goal NY was defending in the second and saw first hand how many times the Impact were almost through on goal. Whether it was Tainio or one of the back four, a Red Bull was always stepping up and winning 50-50 balls or intercepting passes. The NY back line simply did not give Montreal a chance to connect on the final pass.
While the second half was a fantastic one for Red Bull fans, after the game, the team focused on their poor first half. If they want to make Red Bull Arena a fortress and take some key road wins, they cannot look that lost in the midfield again. Montreal is an expansion team coming together. A more veteran team will punish NY in the future for similar play. NY’s next match is away to Columbus this Saturday, their first road game against a team in the east.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
