From their ironclad defense to their dogged discipline, from their pragmatic organization to their yeoman workrate, the Red Bulls opened a promising 2010 season with all the things that had been so missing from their pathetic 2009.
After suffering through one of the worst campaigns in MLS history last year, they ground out a 1-0 season-opening win over Chicago last night at $200 million Red Bull Arena. With 24,572 raucous fans in the stands _ armed with smoke bombs and flares _ they earned a win that was far more hard work than work of art.
“It’s a great start for us, after a rough last season and going into two away games,” said first-year Swedish coach Hans Backe, who _ for at least the opening week _ saw his relentless defensive drilling pay off. “It was a must, after last season.”
Midfielder Joel Lindpere’s 40th-minute one-timed volley was the only score, and New York made that stand up. They got eight saves from keeper Bouna Coundoul and outstanding defense not just from the back four, but the midfield as well.
Possession was fleeting and their attack sputtering, but their poise never failed them. And after slumping to 5-19-6 last year _ leaking 47 goals, posting just four clean sheets and not mustering a victory until Week 5 _ the improvement was both noticeable and welcome.
“It’s an unbelievable environment to play in. I hate clichés, the whole 12th man thing, but it really is. Seattle and Toronto are unbelievable, but this takes it to a new level,” said defender Mike Petke, who turned after the final whistle and clapped to the supporters behind the goal he had defended so vociferously.
“(Our play) just feels different. It feels great,” Petke added. “All our hard work that we put in is paying off. We put ourselves in bad situations, and I never thought we were going to lose, but there were many times we didn’t have control. Those are the games _ when you don’t have control of it _ when things aren’t going right, you have to find a way to win, get three points at home; and that’s what we did.”
Facing last year’s Eastern Conference finalists _ against whom they’d lost five straight and outscored 11-3 _ New York got the only goal. When Fire defender Mike Banner headed out winger Danleigh Borman’s cross, the left-footed Lindpere blasted a right-footed volley by rookie keeper Andrew Dykstra.
“I didn’t even know he had a right foot,” quipped Backe. “He can be the player from central midfield that can go for the killer passes, but he’ll score goals for us, too. He’s an absolute hard-worker. His work-rate is phenomenal. I’m surprised no other teams in Europe picked him up.”
The Estonian international had scored on a one-timed volley just like it the week before, in their 3-1 friendly rout of Brazilian power Santos. Except last night’s blast was with a foot he rarely uses, rare enough he took Backe’s prodding one step further.
“I don’t have (a left foot). It’s just for walking,” Lindpere said. “I am for the team. I don’t care if I score. Of course it makes me happy to score the winning goal, but at the end all anybody counts are the points.”
Petke and rookie Tim Ream were stout in central defense, while fullbacks Roy Miller and Jeremy Hall got forward, but still managed to track back. On a night that saw San Jose cough up three goals and Eastern Conference archrival D.C. United leak four, New York put forth a complete team defensive effort.
And they needed it, with captain Juan Pablo Angel having a point-blank shot blocked by Fire defender Wilman Conde, and then beating his man on an open run through the box only to have right winger Dane Richards not see him.
“We played well. We could play better than that. From previous games, it was very important to get a win against these guys, because we didn’t have a good record against them,” said Angel. “I think it was (improved from last year); we were a lot more organized. They didn’t have many chances. It was important to get the result, important to get off with a win, and start building from there.”