Thank you for tuning into this live, congrats Crew fans, still another game for the Red Bulls, so RB fans keep your head up
What a performance by the Crew, the Red Bulls have a tough mountain to climb next week against the Crew, going back home. It's not impossible but it is defenitly tough
'93:05 Kamara to McCarty who kicks it out another CLB throw and that's the final whistle!!!!!!!! 2-0 win by the Columbus Crew going back to RBA next week with a commanding lead!
'92:30 throw in CLB and they are taking their time again as another sub is coming in for CLB Meram for George
'91:20 Higauin to Trapp and Veron fouls Higauin, CLB taking their time
'90:23 Kljestan with the throw in, to Zubar to Abang to BWP to Felipe to Dax who gets it taken away
'89:39 now McCarty to Zubar to Kljestan to Veron who is offsides
'88:11 Kamara takes down McCarty now Robles to Miazga to Zizzo and back to Clark now
'87:45 SUB Klute for Afful
'87:01 Higauin taking time and it's out of the box but CLB still has it, and it goes out a RB throw
'86:16 now Mbwati gets it back and it's out another corner
'85:45 SUB Abang for Sam
'84:22 KAMARA PUTS IT PAST ROBLES, GREAT GOAL! Horrible defense by the Red Bulls there, now 2-0 probably going back to RBA next week
'83 Sam to Kljestan who gets it taken away a RB throw now Lawrence to Zubar to Miazga who gives up the ball, bad pass.
'82:33 Veron taken down, CLB throw, RB has to press foward now
'82 Kamara to Francis headed away by Zubar, nnow Veron who is taken down.
'81 Felipe with the great play now Miazga to McCarty and another RB turnover now Francis
'80 Felipe to Lawrence to Felipe to Lawrence to McCarty to Zizzo and it's just out of the reach of BWP
'79 SUB Mabwati for Finlay
'78:38 and Higauin gets it taken away by McCarty now Zizzo to Sam to Felipe
'78 Higauin's corner is parried out, now CLB has it back and now it's a RB throw
'77 throw in CLB by Afful, and Lawrence, now RB throw and Higauin and now that ball is out, corner for CLB coming up
'75 Kamara now Tchani to Felipe to Kljestan to Sam and it's saved by Clark again now Veron who crosses it to BWP who can't control the ball and shoots it wide after being fancy
'74:30 McCarty to Lawrence to McCarty to Felipe who shoots it at the top of the box wide left
'74 Lawrence to McCarty to Felipe to Kljestan and that is stolen by CLB
'73 now Miazga and Veron and it's saved by Clark
'72 Kamara and it's a CLB throw, Afful and now a RB throw
'71 now Kamara after the throw and that's a bad turnover giving CLB another chance, now McCarty, Sam to Lawrence to BWP to Zizzo to Lawrence to Zubar, to McCarty
'69:27 Miazga to McCarty to Lawrence to Parkhurst int by Veron and now Miazga to McCarty to Veron to Finlay, another great play by Lawrence
'68:35 Meram is down, after a foul by Kljestan
'68 now Finlay and a GREAT save by Zubar to possibly prevent a goal
'67 Kamara after the throw, and it will be a CLB corner, and the corner is punched out
'66 Kljestan to McCarty and BWP is taken down and McCarty and now Kamara
'65:38 Lawrence and that shot is out for a CLB throw
'65 SUB Veron for Grella
'64:27 Higauin crosses it and McCarty to Grella back to McCarty who is pushed down by Meram
'64 and that Felipe shot is way up above the net
'62:35 Miazga to Sam to McCarty to Felipe to Grella and that shot is blocked but Grella gets it back and free kick CLB, and now Trapp to Meram to Francis to Meram who shoots JUST WIDE!
'61:38 now Lawrence to McCarty to Sam who is pushed out and gets the ball taken by Francis, ball CLB now
'60:11 Grella shoots it easily saved by Clark, and back to Robles, and Higauin and Kamara's shot goes wide!
'59:11 Grella pressures Clark but now it's Miazga to Felipe now BWP and Kljestan shoots it JUST WIDE
'58:21 Lawrence does a good job of clearing the ball and McCarty to Lawrence who shoots it WAY wide
'57:21 McCarty to BWP and he gets it taken away in the box, steal by Zizzo, now Sam and it's offsides
'56:54 Felipe to Kamara and it's out of bounds now, throw in RB
'56:03 McCarty to BWP to Zizzo, McCarty and Zizzo is taken down, grabbing his ankle
'55:20 McCarty and Grella gets the ball it will be a CLB throw
'54 BWP in the box to Kljestan who shoots it way too high!
'53:40 now Kljestan to Felipe back to Kljestan to Felipe and now a RB throw to Grella and Clark barely pushes it up and makes the save
'53 now Higauin shoots it wide right! goal kick by Robles
'51:15 BWP to Sam to Kljestan who gets the corner, and the RB corner is passed out wide, now Miazga to McCarty to Felipe to Grella after Parkhurst steals it and Grella goes down, no call
'50:20 Dax with the ball now to Felipe, bad pass by Dax, now Kamara pressured by Miazga, goal kick coming
'49:13 and Tchani is down, limping, free kick CLB, and Kamara to Afful to Higauin to Finlay who gets it taken away
'48:22 now Trapp to Higauin to Afful who shoots it wide left! GREAT opportunity by Columbus completely wasted
'47 Grella gets the ball stripped by Tchani to Kamara and that's all the way across the box to Francis and that will be a CC throw
'46:12 the free kick by Zizzo is headed away back to Zizzo now to McCarty who turns the ball over and save by Robles, now Kljestan with the ball
'46 and we are off, now McCarty heads it to CC, and that is picked off by Lawrence, to Sam to Felipe to Kljestan who is pushed down and Wahl gets a yellow
Meram's goal was the fastest in MLS Playoff history
The two teams are retaking the field
This is a one goal game, if the Red Bulls get one goal quickly out of the gate it's a completely different game but if the Red Bulls give up another goal, it's bleak looking for RB
The Crew have to be very excited about what they have done to the Red Bulls in the first half, completely dominated play, got the Red Bulls very frustrated, playing like they really haven't played all year long. Marsch needs to tell them to calm down, get back to what brought them to the Eastern Conference Finals
The Red Bulls are frustrated they have not played well, they are very disheveled, need to play Red Bull soccer in the 2nd half to at least tie the game up.
'45+2 Kljestan has the ball taken away and Marsch is mad at Chapman, free kick RB and Zizzo with the free kick and that is to Sam to Kljestan and it's the end of the 1st half
'45+1 Higauin to Tchani and Robles jumps up and grabs it
'44 Miazga to Felipe who is elbowed no call, and he is down grabbing his head
'43 Now Tchani to Meram who has his shot SAVED by Robles, great save by Luis Robles, corner is headed away
'42 Kljestan taken down and free kick RB, that Felipe pass is saved by Clark
'41 McCarty to Felipe to Zubar to Grella now a RB throw and it's in the box, now Sam, to BWP who heads it wide
'39 throw in CC, and its to Kamara and now McCarty and now it's to Higauin to Kamara to Afful to Trapp who crosses it in and Zubar with the diving header and Kamara with another header, easy save by Robles
'38 Miazga taken down no call, and Miazga up and pushes Meram
'37 Finlay to Francis to Afful and its settled down now, Kljestan taken down, free kick RB, and now Zizzo it's blocked by CC
'36:35 that ball is headed to Grella and BWP can't get to it and now it will be a throw in by CC
'35:11 corner coming for Kljestan and Dax meeting with everybody after talking to Marsch and that corner is a pass and that is stolen off McCarty now a goal kick
'35 Lawrence getting stretched holding onto his hammy
'33 and Zizzo to BWP who shoots it wide left and Lawrence down all the way by Robles
'32 now Felipe to Sam to BWP but he wasn't there now Sam tries it get it back, easy save by Clark, and Sam goes in with a dangerous challenge, to Zizzo and that ball is hit out another corner and the corenr is hit out now RB ball again, horrible turnover by Lawrence and GREAT play by Felipe
'31:09 Miazga to Lawrence who loses posession again and Finlay and Higauin's shot is right at Robles
'30:12 throw in CC now, and Kljestan to Grella to McCarty to Kljestan who hits it out
'29:11 another RB corner coming, Kljestan's corner is headed out of play another corner coming, and that is out of pressure now
'28:16 Miazga heads that right to CC, now Lawrence to Grella to BWP to Grella who gets it taken away
'27:07 Zizzo to Kljestan to Sam to McCarty to Felipe and that's another turnover, and Trapp to Francis to Kamara and that is saved by Robles
'25:47 Clark to Trapp to Higauin to Kamara to McCarty, to Higauin and that shot by Finlay is pushed out and off the corner it is saved by Robles
'23:07 McCarty limping and Kamara and that ball is easily saved at the top of the box by Clark, now Dax shoots it and it is tipped out by Clark, RB corner coming and it is is out of the box now Felipe and that will be another corner and that is punched by Clark and the threat is still there, Grella heads it over the net
'21:59 Lawrence can't handle it, and Chapman calls a stop as Tchani is checking if McCarty is ok and Kamara smacks him as he is on the floor for some reason
'21:11 Zubar to BWP headed away and Super K, dropped an expletive,Zizzo to throw it in
'20:30 now the free kick is coming, Higauin to take it, and it is headed away now Sam to Grella and that goes out
'19:20 Afful still down, free kick coming on the right side of the box when he finally gets up
'18:14 Aful fouled by McCarty, Aful is still down
'17:05 Dax, to Sam to Zizzo and that is out, throw in by Miazga, and now Zizzo to Sam to Dax
'16:26 Super K is called for the foul on Miazga, free kick saved by Clark
'15:58 Dax, to Kljestan to Sam and it's another CC throw
'15:34 Sam and that ball is out, throw in CC
'14 Kljestan to Miazga to Zizzo to Sam to Felipe to Miazga to Dax to Lawrence and that is deflected over the net, corner by Kljestan coming and it's saved but still a threat now Dax, to Sam back to Dax who trips and loses possesion
'11:58 Kljestan to Sam back to Kljestan to Felipe to Zubar to Dax to Felipe who has that shot blocked and CC has it back and Lawrence shoots it wide off the bad giveaway another corner, Higauin and it is saved by Robles
'10:59 Harrison shoots it and Robles saves it another CC corner, and it is headed out of the box, but CC has it back
'10:15 Higauin and that is an easy save by Robles
'9:10 another corner for CC coming, and that's headed away again, and now Parkhurst to Meram who is fouled by Kljestan, free kick coming
'7:32 free kick Kljestan to McCarty to Miazga and that ball is out of the reach of BWP, Clark with the easy save, Higuain, and another corner coming after Lawrence hit out and the Finlay corner is headed away by Zizzo
'6:47 That corner is hit away by Sam and McCarty, now Finlay gets the ball taken, RB throw in
'5:44 Miazga with the great steal but Trapp gets it back to Finlay and Zubar heads it away now Finlay with the ball agaian it's put out by Miazga, corner coming
'2:35 now Felipe has that long range shot blocked, corner coming fro the Red Bulls, Kljestan's corner is coming, the corner is heaeded away and Miazga tries it again and then Zizzo has it stolen but the Red Bulls have it in the box and Kljestan has his shot saved by Clark! The next corner is heaed away and Felipe to Kljestan to Sam and that's a great save by Clark, now Grella to McCarty
'1:07 free kick CC, and that's to Higuain to KK, and they are back tracking, and now Kamara back with it and he passes it to Trapp who has it stolen by McCarty
And we are off, OMG 8 seconds in MERAM PUTS THE CREW UP 1-0!! That's horrible for the Red Bulls
Only a few minutes until game time!
This season Kamara and Finlay have been involved in 46 out of Columbus' 62 goals this season including the playoff
CCSC going with a 4-2-3-1 format this evening as well
RB going with a 4-2-3-1 format this evening
ESPN talking about the Jesse Marsch project and the Red Bull season, absolutely crazy and the Red Bulls supporters are bouncing up and down, at Mapfre Stadium
About 10 minutes until gametime in Columbus, Ohio!
The Columbus Crew bench is Klute, Saeid, Mabwati, George, Jimenez, McInerney, and Stuver
Crew SC Starting XI is Clark, Parkhurst, Wahl, Afful, Francis, Trapp, Tchan, Meram, Higuain, Kamara
Red Bulls bench for this game is Reynish, Lade, Ouimette, Wallace, Davis, Veron and Abang
Red Bulls starting 11 for this match is: Robles, Zizzo, Miazga, Lawrence, Sam, Felipe, McCarty, Kljestan, Grella and B.Wright Phillips
According to Weather.com, it's gonna be a cold one in Columbus today, if you are there, bundle up! It's going to be 33 degrees at gametime and it is currently 35 degrees
The Red Bulls have to play conservatively but not trepidatiously as a few key players are on yellow cards and in danger of missing the next game with another yellow including Matt Miazga, Ronald Zubar, Bradley Wright Phillips, and Sascha Kljestan.
New York Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch talked about the respect that these two teams have for each other saying, “I think for the fans of this league this is a great series. It's hard to think back to too many recent matchups in the playoffs where you have two teams with such unique styles of plays and that are so committed to that style of team. We respect Columbus a lot." The Columbus Crew manager Gregg Berhalter talked about who could replace defender Gaston Sauro in the lineup today due to his one game suspension because of yellow card accumulation, “We have a couple candidates. We have Emmanuel and we have Tyson and we have Sergio Campbell. Sergio will probably be less likely to feature, but I'd say the other two are possibilities." The Tyson he is referring to is Tyson Wahl and the Emmanuel he is referring to is Emmanuel Pogaetz.
The key players for the Red Bulls are Matt Miazga and Bradley Wright Phillips. As previously mentioned one of the Red Bulls defenders Damien Perinelle is out so they are without him for the rest of the playoffs, and are now relying pretty much solely on American born Matt Miazga to be the final line of defense between goalie Luis Robles and strikers like Kei Kamara and Frederico Higuain. Miazga is coming off two appearances for the United States Men’s National Team after head coach Jurgen Klinsmann called him up for senior team appearances in world cup qualifying, in those games he played pretty well. The other key player for the Red Bulls, Bradley Wright Phillips has been an absolute beast in the MLS the last two seasons scoring 45 goals including tying the single season regular season scoring record last season with 27 goals. BWP as he is known scored a beauty of a goal to seal the series win two weeks ago that sent the South Ward at Red Bull Arena into a frenzy. If the Red Bulls want to win this game they need a big impact from Bradley Wright Phillips.
The keys to the game for the Columbus Crew Soccer Club are to get the ball to the feet of Kei Kamara and to disrupt the Red Bull’s mojo in whatever ways they can. The Sierra Leonian Kei Kamara scored 2 goals in the Crew’s win over the Impact a few weeks ago. This season Kamara came in 2nd place in the golden boot race with 22 goals behind Sebastian Giovinco of Toronto FC who had 22 goals also. Kamara’s breakout year has been a surprise to everybody in MLS and if the Columbus Crew want to do well in this series vs. the Supporters Shield winning Red Bulls he’s going to going to have to make a big impact.
Kamara’s first career MLS playoff game was as a member of the 2008 Houston Dynamo and he scored against the Red Bulls, that season the Crew obviously sans Kamara and Red Bulls matched up in the MLS Cup. The Red Bulls as previously mentioned are the Supporters Shield Winners and they looked human against a not great DC United team last round; in this round, the Crew have to exploit the Red Bulls defense who is without Damien Perinelle and they have to force the Red Bulls in to stupid mistakes. If the Crew have to get a bit chippy in order to put some past Luis Robles than so be it, they should do what they have to in order to advance to MLS cup and win leg 1 of this series in front of their home crowd.
The keys to the game for the New York Red Bulls are to start quick and maintain the majority of possession throughout the match. Mapfre Stadium in Columbus is no doubt going to be jumping this afternoon so the Red Bulls need to silence the crowd really quickly off the opening whistle and maintain possession from the Crew who are a pretty good possession team they have a good chance to win this game. Both teams in this game were tops in the MLS for shots on goal in the MLS. Columbus had 180 shots on goal in the regular season which led Major League Soccer, while the Red Bulls had just below that at 178 shots on goal. So if the Red Bulls can get some shots on target and pressure goalie Steve Clark they have a good shot to win this ballgame in Columbus.
The Red Bulls got to this point after beating rival DC United 2-0 on aggregate and 1-0 in both games, with goals by captain the “Ginga Ninja”, Dax McCarty and star goal scorer Bradley Wright Phillips. The Columbus Crew got to this point after beating the Montreal Impact 3-1 in the second leg after they lost the first leg 2-1 so they advanced 4-3 on aggregate.
2-1 is for some reason the magic numbers in the season series between these two teams this season. The teams played three times and the Red Bulls own a 2-1 record. The score line for all three games was 2-1. Two of those matchups were at Mapfre Stadium and the Red Bulls and the Crew split those matchups. In the playoffs the Crew own a 3-0 record against the Red Bulls.
The Supporters Shield Winning New York Red Bulls go to Columbus, Ohio to face the Columbus Crew SC at Mapfre Stadium in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The last time these two teams played each other in the postseason was the 2008 MLS Cup Final when the then Western Conference Red Bulls lost to the Crew 3-1.