The New York Red Bulls entered Saturday's match against the Houston Dynamo without having secured a single point so far this season, while also going goalless in their first two matches. Both of those streaks were put to rest after a wild 4-3 victory for the reigning Supporters Shield winners. Felipe Martins scored a brace late in the second half to give his side a victory over a very dangerous Houston Dynamo offense.
It was a Pyrrhic victory for the Red Bulls as Giddeon Baah, Ronald Zubar and Gonzalo Veron all came out of the match due to injuries. Despite having to burn all three of their substitutions, the team was able to gain control of the match in the second half and never looked back. After being down 2-1 at half time, Mike Grella tied the game when David Horst attempted to clear a corner kick but instead saw the ball bounce off the substitute in the 63rd minute. Houston took back the lead just two minutes later when Oscar Garcia, playing for the injured Christian Maidana, squared a pass to Alex Lima at the top of the box who sent a curling shot inside the far post.
From that point on it was all Red Bulls.
Dax McCarty and Sasha Kljestan took control of the midfield as the Dynamo looked to sit back far too early in the game. Under constant pressure and crosses, it was only a matter of time before the game was tied. Felipe did just that in the 77th minute when he received a pass at the top of the box and sent a beautiful volley into the near post to tied the game up again. After David Horst committed a foul outside the box, Felipe and Kljestan stood over the ball. It was Felipe who curled a wonder shot over the wall and inside the post to take the lead.
Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle looked to spark the offense by bringing on Erick Torres in the 85th minute, but the Mexican International wasn't able to create much. The best chance came deep into stoppage time off a free kick. David Rocha sent a long free kick into the box that bounced off of Torres before landing at Ricardo Clark's feet on the penalty spot. Clark's shot was true but was blocked in front of net. The entire Dynamo team screamed that a hand was used to deflect the shot but replays were inconclusive. The ref waved the protests away.
Poor Defense
Both coaches will be upset with their defenses as each side gave away sloppy goals. The Red Bulls got on the board first in the 22nd minute when DaMarcus
Beasley, wearing the captain's armband on the night, failed to clear the ball just outside the six yard box. It rolled right into a waiting Kljestan for an easy tap in. Bruin scored his first goal of the game in the 35th minute after a Garcia pass slipped past Kemar Lawrence. Bruin got on the end of it and chipped goalkeeper Luis Robles to tie the game. Lawrence did a poor job of trying to touch the ball away from the forward, gifting the Dynamo the goal. In the 41st minute, Zubar whiffed on a clearance in the box that rolled to a waiting Bruin to get his brace.
Red Bulls manager Jesse Marsch will take the three points but the number of injuries, especially in defense, will be troubling. Veron is coming off injury and was given the start but could only make it for 32 minutes before being subbed. Baah had to be taken out just before the half while Zubar only lasted ten minutes into the second half. Despite these advantages for the visitors, they weren't able to take advantage and put the Red Bulls away. With both sides leaking goals, it would always come down to who would be able to control the ball better and the home team managed that spectacularly in the second half.
The Dynamo defense got lucky early in the game when Lloyd Sam crossed the ball inside the box to see it apparently deflect off of center back Raul Rodriguez's arm. Neither the sideline nor center ref saw it and waved away the shout in favor of a corner kick for the Red Bulls.
While the Dynamo boast the league's best offense by a comfortable margin three weeks into the season, they also have the worst defense. This sort of trend was tried once back around 2008 with the Los Angeles Galaxy and it didn't turn out so well for them under Ruud Gullit. If they're going to be contenders in this league, they'll have to be much sharper at the back. Cutting out silly fouls to set up dangerous free kicks and set piece defense in general has been a killer for them. The wide game has also been a point of trouble for them.
The Dynamo continue their road trip by traveling across the continent to face off against the Vancouver Whitecaps next weekend. Meanwhile, the Red Bulls have a week off before traveling up to Boston to face off against the New England Revolution on April 1.