There is no love lost between these two rivals. Both teams came out fielding strong starting line-ups, with many regulars featuring. The Red Bulls lost last year to the Union in this competition, 1-0. This year they had the advantage statistically, but lost due to a poor second half performance. The Red Bulls looked fatigued after a near perfect first half. Their trademarked pressure let up, and was easily bypassed, resulting in both Union goals as Philadelphia ended up on top 2-1.
The Red Bull domination started off early, with a great Andre Blake save at the near post. The rebound was pounced on by Bradley Wright-Phillips, and would have likely been an early goal if not for a sliding block by Richie Marquez.
The Red Bulls committed men forward early in an attempt to out posses the Union, but ended up leaving large gaps at the back. The first half Union was unable to break the NYRB press, which resulted in turnovers in the defensive third or hopeful long balls, often putting New York back in possession.
The Red Bulls took the lead with a goal from Mike Grella on a set piece. Ilsinho gave away a silly foul in the Union defensive third, which the Union failed to clear. The loose ball was then pounced on by Grella, thrashing his open shot from 8 yards out.
Grella almost had a second when he hit a wonder strike on the volley. His dipping effort would trouble even the best goalkeepers. Blake made a fantastic play, however, diving backwards, and tip the swerving shot over the crossbar.
The Union got their best chance of the half in the 44th minute. A Barnetta free kick was swung in perfectly for Sebastien Le Toux. His flicked-on header was well met, but unfortunately right at Ryan Meara in goal, who gathered with a forward dive. It was in truth, the Union’s only chance of the half.
On the other end the Red Bulls got a chance shortly after. Lloyd Sam got to the end line, played behind by Sean Davis. His cross was difficult for Marquez to deal with and wasn’t properly cleared. Wright-Phillips was able to take a touch and turn and shoot. Blake was positioned well, however, and caught the shot with a collapse to his right.
The Red Bulls almost had a second before half. Wright-Phillips get in behind the Union defense, splitting Marquez and Yaro. He was almost in on goal, except a great recovery from Yaro pushed the British forward wide, as Blake closed him down simultaneously. He got a shot off, but he was leaning. back, and it flew over the net.
Halftime: NRYB 1- 0 Union. The Red Bulls recorded 13 shots in the first half, the Union only had 1. The first half was certainly lopsided. But the game was only half over, with a chance for the Union to begin anew, and they took full advantage. Coach Jim Curtin wasn’t worried at the half, however. “We’re at the point in the season where I wasn’t going to go in and throw things in the locker room. The guys knew the first half wasn’t good enough, and in the second half they played as a team, they fought as a team, they got every second ball, and they had the Red Bulls pinned in from minute one of the second half.”
The second half started off much better for the Union. They broke the NY press, and got the ball into attacking positions.
The Union equalized through Chris Pontius. The play started all the way in the back with Keegan Rosenberry. He bypassed the NYRB pressure, and found Le Toux up the line. Le Toux laid the ball off for Ilsinho who proceeded to run at the NYRB backline with pace. He then found an eye of the needle pass to play Chris Pontius behind the NYRB defense at full speed, and put him 1-on-1 with Meara. Pontius made no mistake, slotting past the young keeper to the far post.
Ilsinho almost turned provider again several minutes later, when he ran into the Red Bull box with the ball. He was unable to pick out a pass, and had his cross-cleared. The Union pressure was beginning to mount at this point. Suddenly the team had confidence and was playing like a first placed team. It wouldn’t take long for them took take advantage.
Ilsinho once again assisted from the right side and linked up with Pontius again for the Union’s second goal of the night. The play started when Barnetta picked the ball off of Mike Grella in the defensive third. He then drifted by 2 defenders before playing Ilsinho through the channel. Ilsinho crossed beautifully from the wing 35 yards from goal before he could be closed down. His early, back post cross was perfect and Pontius made no mistake, tapping the ball past Meara in net. Ilsinho may have had a rough start to the game, but his service in the second half is something that shows his immense talent. This is the kind of performance every Union fan knows he can provide.
The Red Bulls had a great opportunity that was swept from Wright-Phillips’s feet in the 80th minute to prevent the equalizer. A cross was laid off by Gonzalo Veron, and was placed behind Yaro and right in front of Blake. The pass was placed so that neither Yaro nor Blake could make a challenge before Wright-Phillips. Richie Marquez, however, made a great recovery to slide the ball away from BWP before he could get a shot off.
Bradley Wright-Phillips could have equalized in the 86th minute but his header arced over the goal. He was in enough space for Veron to pick out him out on a cross. But Wright-Phillips’s header was looping, and popped over the net. It was a tough header, and was likely a bit too high for him, but he certainly could have done more with it.
The Union held on despite an unconvincing first half in an entertaining end of the game. Red Bull coach Jesse Marsch was sent off for dissent late in stoppage time, and proceeded to spike a pair of match balls in frustration. A member of the Union technical staff was also sent off for sending a second ball onto the field. The ref originally sent Curtin off, but after some discussing they sorted out that it wasn’t Curtin, but a member of his staff.
After the game coach Curtin had some good things to say about the team, especially when it comes to the US Open Cup. “I’m very happy with the performance. This group has a way of winning in this tournament, a way of surviving and advancing. I thought there was some darn good soccer, there are some things we can do to be smarter, and finish out the win, but all in all a good performance.”
Thoughts:
- The second half belonged to the Union. The Red Bulls dominated the first, but were unable to press convincingly in the second, as the Union had several chances in the opening 10 minutes and beyond. Coach Marsch attributed the lack of pressure to the team underestimating the Union after a strong first half.
- Ilsinho was wasteful with possession in the first half. He took too long on several occasions to find the open man, and played some lackluster passes. He started off the second half much stronger, running at opponents and creating problems for the NY backline, shown in his assist in the 55’ and 61’.
- The Red Bulls defense pressures in packs of 3’s, which makes it hard the Union to play out of tight situations. Wright-Phillips forces the Union center backs to play wide. At this point the Red Bulls push the closest winger, forward, and midfielder to close all passing angles. The Union defenders then have the option to pass out of the pressure, likely resulting in a loss of possession in a bad place; or hoof the ball long, and hope Le Toux can hold the ball.
- NY played very narrow defensively, which means that with possession, the Union struggled to find space. The switch is on, however, and there were acres of space on the weak side. There was space to counter when the Union breaks the Red Bull pressure, which didn’t occur until tired legs kicked in during the second half.
- Creavalle was a menace for the NYRB players, making tackles and generally harassing their players. Along with Barnetta he has covered the defense well, cutting out attacks before they can gain momentum. On the ball he played out of NYRB pressure on multiple occasions, twisting this way and that, confounding Red Bull players and creating space to pass forward. In the absence of Vincent Noguiera, Creavalle might have to be the deep playmaker who finds seams and gets the ball into the attackers feet.
- Fabinho was often isolated on the left side and has done wonderfully to deal with Lloyd Sam and Zizzo without much help. With the ball he has made some great passes up the line for Pontius to run on to. These are difficult passes, if there is too much power the ball runs out for a goal kick. Too little power and it gets cut out. To place it perfectly with such a direct pass takes great skill and technique. He has done a great job cementing himself as a top notch left back since the first game.
- The Red Bulls have lost much of their flair in the second half, and instead are often on the back foot. Instead of their usual team pressing, they are pressing with one or two men at a time, leaving massive holes in the midfield. Instead of their usual possession, and quick passing, they are looking for runs to the corner and hopeful crosses.
Line-ups and Summary:
New York Red Bulls
Ryan Meara (18)
Sal Zizzo (15), Aurelien Collin (78), Ronald Zubar (23), , Connor Lade (5),
Dax McCarty (11), Sean Davis (27)
Mike Grella (13) Sacha Kljestan (16), Lloyd Sam (10)
Bradley Wright-Phillips (99)
Philadelphia Union
Andre Blake (1)
Fabinho (33), Richie Marquez (16), Josh Yaro (15), Keegan Rosenberry (12)
Warren Creavalle (2), Tranquillo Barnetta (10)
Chris Pontius (13), Roland Alberg (6), Ilsinho (25)
Sebastien Le Toux (9)
Summary:
Goal NYRB: Mike Grella 17’ (unassisted)
Yellow NYRB: Sal Zizzo 51’
Goal PHL: Pontius 55’ (assist Ilsinho)
Yellow PHL: Ilsinho 56’
Goal PHL: Pontius 61’ (assist Ilsinho)
Sub NYRB: Felipe (8) for Sean Davis (27) 65’
Sub PHL: Leo Fernandes (22) for Ilsinho (25) 67’
Sub NYRB: Gonazlo Veron (30) for Lloyd Sam (10) 70’’
Sub PHL: Brian Carroll (7) for Roland Alberg (6) 76’
Sub PHL: Walter Restrepo (20) for Sebastien Le Toux (9) 80’
Sub NYRB: Justin Bilyeu (20) for Connor Lade (5) 89’
Yellow PHL: Fernandes 90+3
