During this regular season home and home, the New York Red Bulls looked two different teams when taking on the Houston Dynamo. Leading into the home game for New York, Houston was arguably the best team in MLS and the stats backed it up. No goals allowed in the run of play since the end of June, clean sheets left and right, and the Dynamo had been winners of five straight league games. Houston was the dominant team when they hosted New York at home and the Red Bulls knew they played one of their worst games since Hans Backe took over. Luckily for the Red Bulls, Red Bull Arena has been a fortress all season long, only dropping 6 out of a possible 33 points heading into this matchup (3 draws). With the South Ward sounding their best all season long, New York needed to prove to the rest of the league that they do not want to have to play in Red Bull Arena ever again.
What changed for New York in just seven days to go from a flat performance to a high-octane pressure game though? Before you even look at Hans Backe’s three lineup changes, you need to go back to this weeks training and the pre-game warm-ups. For Friday night’s game, I sat next to the Red Bulls Supporter Section rather then in my normal seats behind the away goal. During pre-game warm-ups, I noticed a bit more feistiness out of the Red Bull players during their normal small-sided games. Thierry Henry went as far as to slide tackle Kenny Cooper to regain possession after he had lost it, with three minutes left in the actual warm-ups. I know Henry is a passionate player but Cooper was very lucky to step over Henry’s challenge. Dax McCarty told reporters after the game that they had their best training all year and that guys were kicking each other in practice. Once that whistle blew, you could tell New York was looking to bounce back and regain the form they had after back-to-back wins over the Fire and Philly.
What definitely helped New York in their pressure game were the lineup changes Backe had made. Cooper came back in up top, moving Le Toux out wide right in the midfield and Connor Lade to right back. Heath Pearce slotted next to Holgersson in the center of defense, relegating Conde to the bench. Certainly not least, however, was the return of midfielder Dax McCarty after his suspension from yellow card accumulation. Teemu Tainio is a great central defensive midfielder but his legs are just not under him for a full game yet, at least not the way Hans Backe wants his team to play. Like a typical Red Bulls home side, the fullbacks pushed up in the attack, forcing the Dynamo wingers to stay honest and pick up the runs down the flanks. Connor Lade and Roy Miller did an excellent job giving hell to Mac Kandji and Calen Carr all night. Lade and Kandji, a former Red Bull, also had the most entertaining and physical battles all night long. Although Kandji did beat Lade a few times into the box, the pressure was applied long enough to allow McCarty or Holgersson to step in and take away Kandji’s chances once he passed Lade. Kandji did get in on Bill Gaudette two times but on both occasions, sent the ball outside the posts. New Yorks pressure did not stop in the midfield though, as forward and Captain Thierry Henry not once, but twice made Tally Hall look foolish by creating chances off of balls that seemed destined for Halls gloves. Henry over the seasons has once or twice a game slide by the keeper with a foot raised to try and block the ball from heading up field but Friday night was the first time that Henry was able to regain his footing and create with the ball. Hall did well to recover by blocking a shit with his chest and tipping the second one away.
The Red Bulls first goal came directly after a corner kick, where Holgersson stayed in the box after the Red Bulls maintained possession. Roy Miller threw the ball to Lindpere’s feet and received the ball softly enough to cross to Houston’s back post. An onrushing Tim Cahill, making his home debut, headed the ball back across goal and into Holgersson’s path. Holgersson had an easy put away and the subsequent game winner in front of the South Ward as well as his family, who were in attendance from Sweden. Houston would break New York down a bit as three subs from both teams came into the fold, Camargo, Ching, and Ricardo Clark for the Dynamo, and Tainio, Solli, and Marquez for New York. The Dynamo put chances wide and hit the crossbar and New York would gain an insurance goal in stoppage time to propel them back into first place in the Eastern Conference for the evening.
While New York once again proved that they are a team that can battle for the remaining two trophies in MLS, there were some points they need to improve upon. As well as, New York needs to play well on the road. With players returning to 100% fitness and Cahill starting to integrate himself in the midfield, New York should be the most dangerous team in MLS during any match. To have players like Teemu Tainio, Jan Gunnar Solli, and Rafa Marquez come off the bench in the last twenty minutes and contribute strong defensive play as well as goals, New York is a deep team that can make a very deep run into the MLS playoffs. New York is next in action against the Portland Timers at home.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
