I hope you have enjoyed this presentation of the 2015 MLS Eastern Conference Finals with me Max O'Neill, please stay tuned for the recap of this game, shortly
Red Bulls players are looking very dejected, after this heartbreaking loss
The Red Bulls supporters are still chanting, for their boys, what an amazing season for the Red Bulls!
The Columbus Crew have lost this game 1-0 but won the series, 2-1 on aggregate! Abang was just too little too late for the Red Bulls, they should've done it when there was more time
'93:45 Sam to Abang taken down, no foul, and Robles now, BWP to Zizzo to Sam and now McCarty and inches away from a tie, now a RB corner, Sam to McCarty and it's blocked and the CREW ARE HEADED TO THE MLS CUP!!
'93:24 SUB Wahl for Finlay
'92:21 ABANG PUTS IT IN!!!!!!!!!!! 2-1 CREW up on AGGREGATE!!!!!
'91:23 Zizzo cross to Sam to Miazga to Kljestan to Veron after a save
'90:15 Miazga to Francis to Finlay to Higauin who is taken down no call, Miazga, now Dax, now a RB throw to Sam
'89:36 Robles with the throw, now Kljestan to Kamara, now another RB throw
'87:45 RB with the throw, now Miazga to CLB to Saied taken down, and now SWP to BWP, to Kljestan to Veron, to McCarty to Miazga to Clark
'86:08 Zizzo to SWP who is taken down, free kick RB, Kljestan's free kick is to Veron now Higauin to Sauro to Kamara to Tchani to Finlay, Zizzo with the take away
'85:20 Higauin with the free kick and it's right at Robles
'85 SUB Saied for Miram
'84:10 Higauin to Francis to Meram and he's fouled by Zizzo, who gets a yellow
'83:40 Kamara taken down by SWP, bad call by the ref, there to give CLB the free kick
'82:38 McCarty taken away by CLB now SWP and that is saved by Sam, to McCarty and it's taken away by CLB
'81 SUB SWP for Felipe
'79:40 Lawrence to Sam to Miazga, to BWP to Sam to Veron to Sam to Felipe to Zizzo and now Kamara to Higauin now Dax to Felipe to Kljestan to Zubar to Sam to BWP who chests it right up in the air
'78:03 Klute with the throw now Dax to Lawerence to Miazga to Finlay and Veron blocks the cross, and the CLB corner, is out by Miazga and Miram is called for offsides
'76:36 Abang slips gives Kamara a great chance and Finlay can't handle the cross, now a CLB throw, and it's Dax to Klute another CLB throw
'75:28 Afful taking his merry time, getting up SUB Klute coming on
'73:38 Sam to Veron and it's blocked back to Veron to McCarty to Veron and it goes to Kljestan to Zizzo and it's off Sauro another RB corner Sam to Veron blocked by Tchani, Kljestan to Veron to Sam to BWP who sends it above the net
'73:11 Trapp clears it away and Felipe gives up the throw
'72:40 Kljestan shoots it GREAT save by Clark, now a corner
'72 Miazga to Abang to Sam to Kljestan easily saved by Clark
'71:36 SUB Abang for Lawrence
'70:32 Higauin sends it to Kamara, saved by Robles, now BWP who gets it taken away, now Felipe to Sam who SHOOTS IT WIDE!
'69:07 Higauin with the free kick and it's to Finlay who goes with the clean wiff, now a CLB throw, Zizzo fouls Meram, who is taking his time getting up, no doubt understanding the situation
'67:27 Sam and now it's out for a throw now Felipe to Zizzo who shoots it right at Clark!
'65:35 Afful to Higauin to Francis to Tchani to Afful to Dax to Sam, to Robles and Veron gets it taken away by Francis and Sauro get's called for the yellow on the foul on Kljestan
'62:43 Sam to Parkhurst to Sam for the throw, now Zubar now Kljestan to BWP to Veron to Felipe to Zizzo to Kljestan to Veron who draws the corner, and Kljestan's corner to Sam and Kljestan loses it now Higauin to Lawrence to Tchani to Trapp who shoots it wide, now BWP to Sam, to Zubar to Dax to Miazga, to Felipe and Veron to McCarty to Lawrence's cross is headed away
'62:12 Lawrence to Sam and it's out
'61 SUB Veron for Grella
'59:41 Higauin to Finlay and it's a corner for CLB now Meram and finally Zizzo sends it out for a CLB throw, now RB ball
'58:19 Dax, to BWP who is taken down, free kick RB, no card to Sauro, Kljestan's free kick is punched away by Clark , Zizzo's cross is right at Clark
'56:30 Kamara's shot is out and it's offsides, now Robles sends it to Miazga taken away by CLB, now Sam to Felipe and it's out of trouble now Kljestan who falls down, throw in RB, now Dax, to Miazga to Zubar and Tchani and that ball to Finlay is almost out, good defense by Lawrence there
'56 Francis to Higauin to Meram and that's out for a Robles goal kick
'55:17 Afful to Higauin to Trapp who is fouled, free kick CLB
'54:15 now a CLB throw by Tchani and Afful, to Kljestan who trips and now back to CLB
'51:20 Kljestan to Lawrence to BWP and it's not controled by BWP now RB with the ball back and Higauin to Finlay to Tchani to Higauin to Tchani to Finlay and it's a CLB corner and Higauin's corner is out to Sam, to Grella, to Felipe to Kljestan who shoots it way above the net, totally unacceptable shot from Sascha Kljestan if you are RB now Grella who shoots it into the supporters section
'49:50 Felipe gives it up after the Kljestan keep in and now Finlay to Trapp to Grella to BWP to Sam who takes down Francis, free kick CLB
'46:30 Zizzo to Dax, to BWP and it's taken away now Kamara, to Trapp to Afful to Tchani now Felipe and it's back to Higauin now Finlay to Meram to Francis now Dax to BWP and it's taken away by Parkhurst and BWP passes it to Grella to Kljestan to BWP and it's saved by Clark
'46 Dax to Grella taken away by CLB, now Lawrence to Miazga now Grella and it's taken away and the flag is up corner RB coming! Kljestan sends it in and it's punched away and the whistle is blown, foul on Lawrence
The Red Bulls only have 1 shot on goal, and it didn't come until the end of the first half. For somebody just turning on the game, having no idea the series score, they would think Columbus was the team that needed to comeback and win and score
The Crew have to keep doing what they are doing, taking the chances when they arrive but not forcing anything
The Red Bulls HAVE to press right off the open in the 2nd half, no choice, down 2-0, they have to put everything on net, and play the best defense they have played all season. Robles has bailed them out a few times in this first half, they have to be better to overcome the defecit
'45+1 Grella and Sauro clears it now Lawrence is taken down, no call!, Grella to Felipe to Sam to Zizzo and that BWP shot is saved by Clark! as the first half ends 0-0
'45 McCarty and now Felipe, wanted a handball no call, now Meram to Kamara to Trapp
'43:31 Sam to Miazga to Dax, to Zizzo now Afful clears it out of danger, and now Miazga, and Sam with the really dangerous challenge on Francis, no call
'43 Grella to BWP to Sam whose cross is saved by Clark
'41:40 Zizzo to Dax to Zizzo and it's taken away now Miazga to Dax and it's a RB throw, now Sam, CLB throw
'40:45 Felipe to Kljestan to Zizzo to Grella after the Parkhurst headed away
'38 Felipe to Miazga to Felipe and that is taken away now a RB throw by Zizzo, another throw coming, Zizzo to Dax to Zizzo to Lawrence now Higauin now Meram and it's taken away now Tchani to Afful to Higauin to Afful who sends it all the way out of play
'37:10 Tchani to Meram to Afful to Kamara and that shot is poked away by Robles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
'36 Grella to Lawrence to Zubar to Felipe to Grella who is taken down, no call
'35:38 Kljestan fouls Trapp, free kick CLB and Marsch is livid
'35:10 now Kljestan with the bad pass intenteded for Lawrence
'33:22 Tchani to Kamara, to Afful to Kamara to Trapp, and now Francis, stolen now Dax and Sam gets it taken away now Tchani and Kljestan is fouled
'32:42 Sam to Kljestan to Grella and Kljestan fouls Afful in the box, FLOP!
'31:38 now Dax taken away from Afful to Grella to Zizzo to Felipe who misses the net, by a long stretch
'31 Zizzo and it's a RB throw, goal kick now for CLB
'29 Clark taking the free kick, and now Miazga and Tchani, to Finlay and GREAT block by Miazga, possible series saving block now Finlay stolen by Dax taken by Tchani
'27:23 pushing and shoving, Robles is out there now, wow!
'26:23 Miazga, to Sam, and Felipe fouls Higauin, CLB is really pissed think there should be a card, yellow to Felipe
'25:27 Meram to Afful now Sam, and it's sent out of play by Sauro
'24 Miazga to Lawrence to Grella to Felipe to Zizzo, to Dax to Miazga
'23:48 Miazga, to Lawrence throw CLB
'22:28 Afful and it's to Grella to Felipe stolen away, now Trapp to Francis, to Trapp, and Meram to Higauin who crosses it too high for Kamara
'21:45 Lawrence to Kljestan to Lawrence back to Zubar now to Miazga and it's out Francis throw
'21 Sam to Kljestan who is taken down, no call
'20 Dax to Grella who draws the corner from Afful, Kljestan's corner is Lawrence to Felipe to Lawrence after Parkhurst headed it away
'18:55 BWP taken down, now Tchani to Finlay to Kamara to Finlay to Kamara and he wiffs, taken away by Zubar now Kljestan
'17:29 Felipe now RB throw, Miazga, to Sam to BWP and RB with the corner bad play by Sauro right there and the corner is headed by Zubar, now Parkhurst sends it out
'16:48 Higauin going to take the corner, and it's shot out by Tchani
'16 Afful to Parkhurst to Trapp to Meram taken away by RB, now Miazga
'14 Felipe to Dax to Sam taken away now Felipe who is taken down, free kick RB, Lawrence to Dax and that's taken away now Dax to Felipe to ZIzzo to Sam now Dax
'13 Lawrence to Robles to Miazga to BWP to Grella who is taken down by Afful, free kick RB, Kljestan's free kick is all the way through the box, out of danger
'11:12 Lawrence to Zubar to Miazga, back to Zubar to Lawrence to Felipe to Zubar to Felipe to Dax, and it's an RB throw
'8:50 Zubar, to Miazga, to Dax, to Felipe to Zubar, to Felipe to Miazga, stolen and now a RB throw to Dax now BWP to Sam to Zizzo to BWP and it's stolen by Trapp now Kamara, defended well by Lawrence now Grella saved by Clark after the cross
'7:18 now Sam to Miazga to Sam to Kljestan who gets it taken away now Miazga back to CLB and that Kamara point blank shot is SAVED by Robles! Corner by Higauin is saved by Robles
'6:55 blocked by CLB and Miazga sends it out for a CLB throw
'5:56 Zizzo gets the throw, to the right of the box, to Sam, to Zubar to Dax, to Felipe to Zizzo and it's now a RB corner
'4:15 and Robles gets the ball now Lawrence, to Miazga to Zizzo to Miazga to Dax and that Zubar ball is over the head of BWP, Clark with the ball now and Trapp is fouled by Kljestan
'2 Trapp with the steal now Higauin stolen back to Higauin now Lawrence to Miazga to Dax to BWP who is taken down, now Parkhurst is down in pain
':40 after ther CLB throw now Francis stolen now Lawrence, to Parkhurst to Tchani to Meram back to Tchani, to Finlay and ROBLES WITH THE SAVE and it's out of danger!!
'1 CLB to kick off and we are off, now Kamara to Miazga, now BWP to Zizzo, who has it stolen
PLAY BALL!
The fireworks are off, the anthem is coming as the teams are on the field getting ready for the 2nd leg of this Eastern Conference Finals
The teams are walking onto the pitch right now
Only a few minutes now, really now, I appolgozie for keep saying that
Red Bulls going with the 4-2-3-1 formation, CLB going with the 4-2-3-1 format
Still people filing in, only a few minutes until gametime
Kickoff is moments away
Still probably 200 people outside RBA, absolutely crazy, new security measures
Just sitting here, watching the clock, waiting for 7:30 to arrive!
Melano has just sealed the deal, in the 95th minute the Portland Timbers are headed to MLS CUP, let's see who is going to join them in just a few minutes, and who will join FC Dallas in heartbreak
CLB bench= Wahl, Klute, Saeid, Mabwati, Jimenez, McInerney, Stuver
CLB starting 11 is Clark, Afful, Parkhurst, Sauro, Francis, Finlay, Trapp, Tchani, Meram, Higauin, Kamara
RB bench=Reynish, Lade, Ouimette, Veron, S.Wright Phillips, Davis, Abang
Red Bulls starting lineup is Robles, Zubar, Miazga, Zizzo, Lawrence, McCarty, Felipe, Sam, Kljestan, Grella, B.Wright Phillips
Almost half an hour until gametime at Red Bull Arena
Just a reminder the game is at 7:30 pm ET and on Fox Sports 1, which on Time Warner Cable is channel 400
In the Red Bulls last home game, a few weeks ago, the Red Bulls won 4-1, which would be enough to move onto MLS Cup, so it can be done, but it is going to be challenging the last game was against a very poor Philadelphia Union squad, not Columbus, who is a much better team.
About an hour until the first game starts, between FC Dallas and the Portland Timbers, Portland is up 3-1 on aggregate
Just a reminder that kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET tonight.
According to MLSSoccer.com, after the last game Marsch said about the almost immediate deficit, “Pretty incredible that we dig a hole like that nine seconds into the game. Very disappointing. But, actually, our response for the rest of the half and then even our push in the second half was all pretty good. Then, obviously, to give up a goal late, really, now we’ve dug ourselves a hole.”
The keys for the Columbus Crew Soccer Club are to score early and pressure the Red Bulls into mistakes. Red Bull Arena will be jumping and rocking if the Crew can silence the Red Bulls fans early into the game and get the Red Bulls playing from behind early on, as they have a good chance to move onto the MLS Cup Final. They also have to get the Red Bulls to turn the ball over a lot; if they do, the Crew have a good chance to move on.
The key players for the New York Red Bulls are Bradley Wright-Phillips and Matt Miazga. The true stars are at their best when all the bright lights are on, and the lights don’t get brighter than this for the Red Bulls. It is either win by enough or go home. BWP needs to prove he is a star and lead the Red Bulls to victory in this one. He missed some great opportunities in the last game where he could’ve, and frankly should’ve, scored but missed the net. Miazga was caught obviously ball watching on the second goal and didn’t play to well in the first leg. Miazga is one of the best young defenders in the MLS and he needs to play better defensively if New York are to advance.
The key players for the Columbus Crew are Kei Kamara and Justin Meram. Sierra Leone native Kamara is the Columbus star and he played well in the first leg, he needs to help carry the Crew on to the next round and an MLS Cup berth. Kamara scored the possible series clinching goal last weekend, and he needs to play well and continue his great form to carry the Crew. Justin Meram got the series going in the right way for the Crew last week against the Red Bulls when he scored the fastest goal in MLS Playoffs history after scoring in the game's opening nine seconds. He went on to play pretty well all match long. Therefore, he needs to play well and possibly put the ball in the net to beat the Red Bulls.
The Red Bulls are in a dangerous position after not scoring at least one goal in Columbus; now they virtually can’t give up a goal at RBA today or they are basically eliminated. If Columbus win by any margin, draw, lose by one goal or lose by two goals but still score themselves then the Crew would advance by virtue of the away goals rule. However, if New York win by a margin of three goals or more they would win. Should the Red Bulls lead 2-0 at the end of 90 minutes, the two teams would then head to extra time. In extra time, the away goals rule is no longer in effect. Therefore, if the Red Bulls lead by two goals at the end of 120 minutes we could see a penalty shootout. For more reading heading into this match, please check out Tyler Fisher's preview right here.
Earlier this week Major League Soccer announced that New York Red Bulls manager Jesse Marsch had been awarded the honor of 2015 MLS Coach of the Year. To win the award, he beat out Oscar Pareja and Carl Robinson.
The Red Bulls are looking to be the third team in MLS history to come back from a two goal aggregate deficit after the first leg. The last ones to do it were the Kansas City Wizards back in 2004. The team now known as Sporting Kansas City had lost the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal 2-0 but then won the second leg 3-0 to win the series 3-2 on aggregate.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA's LIVE coverage of the second leg of the 2015 MLS Eastern Conference Final. The New York Red Bulls welcome the Columbus Crew to Red Bull Arena in this one looking to come back from the brink of death and win the series at home. In the first leg the New York Red Bulls fell by a score of 2-0 at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.