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Although it wasn't the best performance from New York today, they got the job done and kept alive their dream of a first MLS Cup in club history. Thanks for joining me for this match, I've been Liam McMahon. Goodbye for now.

The New York Red Bulls are through to the 2015 MLS Eastern Conference Final, where they will take on either the Montreal Impact or Columbus Crew. You can follow that match right here.

90+4' BWP plays in Veron now, who nearly makes it two before Unkel blows the final whistle to send the Red Bulls through to the Conference Final.

90+3' Celebrations continue around Red Bull Arena. New York are surely home and dry now.

90+2' GOAL NEW YORK RED BULLS! Felipe finally picked a hole in the DC United backline, and he played in BWP who made no mistake this time as he rounded Hamid and smashed the ball into the back of the net. Game over, job done for New York.

90+1' BWP plays Kljestan in behind, surely he'll seal it now... but the flag is up for offside! It won't count.

90' Hamid yet again keeps United in the match. BWP was in on goal, and looked certain to score only for Hamid to get down and make a stunning save. Great goalkeeping. Four more minutes coming.

89' DC still cannot create a chance. Time nearly up.

88' United win a corner, but the Red Bulls are able to get the ball away after some head tennis. Arrieta then fouls Lawrence to relieve the pressure.

87' New York still defending quite comfortably.

86' United throwing some numbers forward now, but still can't create a chance.

85' Kljestan with a dreadful free kick delivery. Really poor.

84' Felipe goes down after a hard challenge from Arrieta, and wins a free kick deep in his own territory.

83' Life has just gone out of this game a bit over the last couple of minutes.

81' McCarty made another great run through the middle of the park, and he laid the ball back for S. Wright-Phillips. He looked to shoot with the outside of his right foot, and the shot sailed over the bar. The winger picked up a knock while shooting there, and will have to be replaced by Gonzalo Veron. Meanwhile, Miguel Aguilar has replaced Kofe Opare for United.

80' DeLeon with another shooting chance after a lay-off on the edge of the box, but his strike is well over the bar.

79' Miazga with some fantastic defending to win the ball off of Espindola. No wonder he's been called up by the USMNT.

78' Is there a goal still in this match? Only time will tell. At the moment, it looks far more likely that if there is a goal scored, it will come from New York.

77' Zubar with a dangerous challenge on Arrieta, who goes down after a blow to the head. Ouch.

76' Red Bulls piling pressure on here, but can't find a chance.

75' New York countered quickly there, but couldn't get a shot off. Game getting stretched here.

74' Kljestan lost the ball and dove in to try and win it back. It was a dangerous challenge, and he picks up a yellow card. Luckily, no one was hurt there.

73' Lawrence fouled by Arrieta. United getting more and more desperate now.

72' S. Wright-Phillips draws a foul, and here comes another attacking free kick for New York. Kljestan takes, and Hamid catches brilliantly.

71' Birnbaum with a dreadful touch to concede a throw in.

70' It's do or die time now for DC United. Can they find a way back into the game?

69' Felipe hauled down cynically Perry Kitchen, who gets booked for his troubles.

68' SUBSTITUTION NEW YORK RED BULLS SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS ON MIKE GRELLA OFF

SUBSTITUTION DC UNITED JAIRO ARRIETA ON ALVARO SABORIO OFF

67' No real rhythm to the game at the moment.

66' Shaun Wright-Phillips about to come on for the Red Bulls.

65' New York in the ascendency at the moment.

64' Miazga heads wide from the ensuing corner.

63' Bill Hamid keeps DC United in the tie! McCarty strides through the defense, and plays in Kljestan. He can pick his spot, and looks to chip Hamid who tips the ball over the bar. Brilliant chance.

62' Espindola hits a ball into the box which Boswell flicks on towards goal, but it doesn't have the requisite pace to beat Robles.

61' Halsti now with a shooting chance, but he scoops his shot from 20 yards out over the bar.

60' DeLeon had a great shooting chance there, but his strike slices off the side of his foot and out for a goal kick.

59' Sam and Kitchen both down now after a heavy challenge.

58' United starting to commit more numbers forward here, they know they'll need a goal eventually.

57' Espindola sends a good ball into the box, but Robles rises highest to catch the ball.

56' Espindola darts down the right wing and clips a ball into the middle that Robles bats behind for a corner.

55' Zizzo may have just had his first bad moment of the match. He looked to switch play across the field for Grella, but it was a poor ball and ran out for a throw.

54' Saborio with a lovely piece of skill to create some space, but he loses his footing and can't get a shot away.

53' Kljestan just whipped in a ball that was a carbon copy of the one which got New York a goal in the first leg. It found Zubar all alone seven yards out, but the defender blasted the ball into the second deck. Horrible.

52' BWP hacked down and here comes another dangerous free kick, this one out on the right wing.

51' Robles claims a lofted ball into the box brilliantly, he rose really well there.

50' Sacha Kljestan must be enjoying Movember. He always has a lovely mustache, and it fits in well this month.

49' Saborio fouls Felipe on the edge of the box, and New York have a great shooting chance here from 25 yards out. The midfielder's strike hits Opare in the wall.

48' BWP earns a corner after some dogged harrying. Kljestan's ball in is poor, and doesn't beat the first man.

47' Espindola's ball is overhit and runs out for a goal kick.

46' United on the attack immediately following the kick off, and Espindola wins a dangerous set piece.

No goals, but a gripping first half. It's still all to play for in the second period. I'll be back in 15 minutes for the final installment of this one.

45+1' BWP carried the ball all by himself for 40 yards or so, but he had no support and the ball was eventually tackled away. That's the end of the opening period.

45' Zizzo overlaps well again and wins yet another corner for New York. Kljestan works it short and has the chance to pick a man in the box but his final ball is disappointing. One more minute coming.

44' New York with another nice pattern of play as they spread the field and knock the ball around.

43' We've played nearly 135 minutes of football over the course of these two legs, and DC United have yet to have a shot on target.

42' Boswell looked to have fouled Miazga in the box, but nothing is given and nothing comes of the corner. Once again, New York leave space up the other end, but Rolfe screws a volley well wide of the target. He needs to do better with that.

41' Kljestan creates space in behind the defense with a great diagonal run, and he earns a corner for New York.

40' Felipe should have scored. Lawrence whipped a cross in with pace, and Felipe rose highest but his header came down off his shoulder and out for a goal kick. He ought to do better with that.

39' Starting to feel as though both teams would take a 0-0 scoreline going into the half.

38' Opare with a terrific sliding challenge to knock the ball away from Lawrence as he approached the box.

37' The DC United traveling support really making themselves heard now.

36' Miazga clears the corner.

35' Sam wins yet another corner after another dangerous run. Some head tennis in the box is unable to produce a chance. Up the other end, Espindola takes a strike which deflects off Felipe just wide and out for a corner.

34' Kljestan whips the corner in and it's cleared out Lawrence, who looks to hit it first time and blasts the ball into the stand.

33' Sam wins a corner with some good work.

32' What a block from Zubar! Space had opened up for Kitchen in the box, and he turned to shoot. It seemed a certain goal, but Zubar got down well to block.

30' Kljestan jinks inside onto his left foot and looks to curl one inside of the far post. It rolls just wide, and Hamid was worried there.

30' Espindola's ball in is towards Halsti, and he flicks the ball on into the center of the box where it is hacked clear.

29' McCarty penalized for a silly foul. Dangerous free kick coming here.

28' Kljestan whips a dangerous ball into the box, and United deal with it well.

27' Lawrence nutmegs Birnbaum, who brings down the left back. I have no idea how that is not a yellow card, completely cynical challenge there.

26' This game has gone just a bit stop-start here as we've had players down injured, some silly little fouls.

25' Rolfe picks up a yellow card for his challenge, and Robles is still down receiving treatment. Looks like he'll be alright to continue.

24' Robles is down after a heavy challenge from Rolfe. Espindola whipped a great ball in behind the defensive line, and the goalkeeper punched the ball clear as Rolfe clattered into him.

23' This game was purported to be a sellout. The number of empty seats around the arena would dispute that.

22' Zubar is limping after a hard fall. You hope that he can continue for New York's sake.

21' New York with 72% of the possession thus far.

20' Kemp with some brilliant defending to cut out a dangerous run from Zizzo down the right hand wing.

19' BWP picks up the ball and runs at Boswell before creating space and hitting a shot directly at Hamid, which the keeper holds.

18' McCarty goes down under a very heavy challenge from Saborio, that looked a very certain foul but the referee was unmoved. Poor no call there.

17' Espindola and Rolfe combine well as they break forward before Saborio has a hit from distance which sails over the bar.

16' Brilliant atmosphere in RBA for this one.

15' Sam takes off on a 50 yard run through the middle of the pitch as New York break dangerously, but Grella hits a bad cross into the box and the attack breaks down.

14' Robles collects a dangerous ball in from DeLeon. Good pressure applied from United there.

13' Sam with some lovely footwork in the corner creates space for a cross, but his final ball is disappointing and is collected by Hamid.

12' Ronald Zubar with a third dreadful giveaway there. New York are really missing Damien Perrinelle today.

11' Saborio picked up the ball in a dangerous position for the first time all day, but hit a really poor ball into the box which came to nothing.

10' New York not always the most stylish of MLS sides, but they're stroking the ball around quite nicely today.

9' Both teams looking to press the ball high up the pitch. Expect that from New York, not as much from DC. United are doing a good job of winning the ball back, but they can't do anything from there.

8' Boswell penalized for a shove on Grella as he went up for a header. Lucky to escape a yellow there.

7' This is our first break in the action today, and you have to say that New York have looked the far better team thus far, they're off to a brilliant start.

6' Lawrence is down with an injury now, training staff on the pitch.

5' Grella again forces Hamid to do something, this time with a soft header that forces an easy save after Zizzo had whipped a ball in.

4' Have to say, if New York do pick up an early goal it would be quite difficult for United to get back into the game.

3' New York have another corner, and now Lawrence is appealing for a hand ball! Nothing given though, not sure whether or that was.

2' Grella hits the post! New York worked a terrifically designed corner kick, and the ball found Grella at the penalty spot, and his strike hit the intersection of post and crossbar.

1' United looking to start on the front foot, but some good defending from Matt Miazga cuts out the attack.

Here. We. Go.

Lovely pyrotechnics show before the match, and the smoke has yet to abate as we get ready for kick off. Wouldn't it be great if teams wouldn't shoot off as many fireworks?

Disappointing to see this many empty seats at Red Bull Arena today.

Teams are in the tunnel, about to head out to the pitch. Here we go.

I must apologize that my play-by-play commentary will be nowhere near as good as that provided by Jon Champion for ESPN for this match. He's a star. We're lucky to have him for the day.

Now that we've gotten close to kick-off, it feels fitting I issue a prediction for this match. Given the desperation which DC United will undoubtedly be playing today, I expect that they will manage to find a goal somewhere. However, New York are the better side. I like the Red Bulls to win today 2-1, thereby advancing on aggregate 3-1.

Just about half an hour until the start of this one. Let me know what you're hoping to see out this match on Twitter, my handle is @liam_mcmahon_11.

New York Red Bulls subs available: Reynish, Lade, Ouimette, Veron, S. Wright-Phillips, Davis, Wallace

New York Red Bulls starting XI (4-2-3-1): Robles; Lawrence, Miazga, Zubar, Zizzo; Felipe, McCarty; Grella, Kljestan, Sam; B. Wright-Phillips

DC United subs available: Dykstra, Arrieta, Martin, Aguilar, Doyle, Mishu, Farfan

DC United starting XI (4-4-2): Hamid; Kemp, Opare, Boswell, Birnbaum; Rolfe, Kitchen, Halsti, DeLeon; Espíndola, Saborío

Just a reminder, kick off is scheduled for 3:00 PM ET. Knowing ESPN, that really means more like 3:10 with the later game kicking off around 5:23.

United midfielder Perry Kitchen also spoke to the good people at dcunited.com, and spoke about his keys to the game. "How we started the game was very positive, you know they're a team that thrives off their rhythm, moving the ball quick, they're obviously a very good possession team, they're a very good high press team. So, I think our ability to kind of disrupt that really helped us and we created a few chances off of it. I think that needs to continue."

Speaking to the club's official media people this week, United defender Taylor Kemp spoke about the club's mindset heading into the second leg, saying: "We have a lot of veteran guys here, and the message has been really you don't know how often you're gonna even get in the playoffs and have the chance to make a run at the Cup. Next year is a long way away, we don't want to have to wait for that."

From that point on, United were unable to create any chances worthy of note, leaving it all to play for at Red Bull Arena this afternoon. After having a full week of training to get their legs back, the Black and Red ought to be ready and raring to go for this one.

In the 72nd minute, New York finally struck. After a silly foul, the Red Bulls were given a set piece on the right wing about 45 yards out from goal. Sacha Kljestan stepped up to the ball, and curled a lovely ball into the hole between the defensive line and the six yard box. Dax McCarty made a scything run through the defense, and rose highest to glance the ball past Hamid and give New York a precious lead.

One minute later, some nice build up play from the Red Bulls brought them closer to a breakthrough than they'd been all afternoon. After a nice passing combination, Kemar Lawrence was played in behind the defense down the left flank. He danced his way towards the touchline before cutting into the box and uncorking a venomous strike which caromed back out off Hamid's finger tips and then the post. New York were getting closer, and would find the opener before too long.

In the second half, New York remained the aggressors. It was clear that United's legs were tired still after their Wednesday night victory over the New England Revolution in the one game knockout round, and that translated into chance creation statistics. The Red Bulls thoroughly dominated in that category, and forced Hamid into another great save in the 58th minute. It was Grella again who tested the USA international, but this time he used his head. After a short corner was worked out to Felipe, the midfielder pinged a ball into the box which Grella glanced on, leaving Hamid no choice but to tip the ball over the bar.

The first half's only real chance came soon afterward, when Mike Grella's shot from point blank range was saved by Bill Hamid's face. After Lloyd Sam whipped in a terrific cross, Bradley Wright-Phillips found himself with the ball at his feet and his back to goal. He rolled the ball over to the feet of Grella, who collected and rifled a shot from eight yards out right into Hamid's nose. Not only was the save spectacular, but it spawned a number of memes relating to the infamous Scott Sterling YouTube video. In case any of you are unfortunate enough to have never seen said video, give it watch. I was kind enough to include it for you right below.

Having already mentioned Dax McCarty's winning goal last weekend, it seems to make sense to hearken back to the first leg. Compared to the three matches which followed the first leg last week, this was by far the most boring of them. It was tight, tactical and cagey. These two bitter rivals know each other well, and are aware of what it takes to disrupt each other's rhythms. Therefore, it was utterly unsurprising that it took nearly half an hour for the first chance to be fashioned off a United corner kick. Although Fabian Espindola's initial ball in was headed clear, Nick DeLeon clipped in a second ball towards the back post. Chris Rolfe climbed highest, and nodded the ball right into the mixer in the center of the box. For a moment, it seemed a goal must come but New York were able to hack the ball clear.

As mentioned already, this is the second leg of this MLS Eastern Conference Semifinal and the Red Bulls enter with a 1-0 aggregate lead courtesy of a Dax McCarty goal last week. That means that United must attack. They were unable to take advantage of their home tie last week, and know that they will have to score at least one goal this afternoon to merely force extra time. Should United win 1-0 today, they would force an extra period. If they manage to win by a margin of 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, etc., they would win on the away goals tiebreaker and would advance outright with a margin of victory of two goals or more. However, if the match ends in a draw or the Red Bulls are victorious, then New York will advance to the Conference Final.

Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA's live coverage of the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs! This afternoon, it is our pleasure to be bringing you full live coverage of all four Conference Semifinal second legs. My name is Liam McMahon, and my task is to bring you all the latest from the match between the New York Red Bulls and DC United from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. New York enter this one with a 1-0 aggregate advantage after the first leg last week, so we should be in for a cracker. These two Atlantic Cup rivals rarely fail to deliver, so sit back, relax, and let me walk you through the build up to this match,

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About the author
Liam McMahon
American sports journalist based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin who has been affiliated with VAVEL for more than a year. Co-editor of the soccer section at VAVEL USA and international football writer at VAVEL UK.