After Roy Miller’s meltdown in San Jose that turned a win into a 2-1 loss, Red Bulls coach Mike Petke had little choice but to bench him. But Petke said with the treatment the defender has gotten from the fans and media, he decided to just let him go to Costa Rica a day early, and not even have him at today’s game.
“Roy Miller had an unfortunate game against San Jose,’’ said Petke. “He’s part of the team; no one’s pointing fingers at him. It’s a situation I spoke with him, he’s very upset about a lot of things. But he’s a team player.
“And I know he was leaving tomorrow for Costa Rica, and I felt it’d be unfair for me to put him out on the bench, even in the 18 with the reaction from our supports and the media, the way things have been written. I wanted him to go home, spend some time with his family clear his head and figure some things out.’’
Miller was culpable on one equalizing goal last Sunday in San Jose, then conceded a penalty – which keeper Luis Robles saved – and committed an encroachment that allowed a successful re-take by Chris Wondolowski.
Many fans were irate after the left back’s admission that he’d rushed in to distract Wondolowski, and also – assuming the striker would score the penalty – to attempt force the ref to call it back, and the now-iced forward might miss a second attempt.
Heath Pearce moved from centerback to left back today, with centerback Markus Holgersson coming off the bench and playing well alongside Jamison Olave. The Red Bulls outshot United 24-4, and had a 7-2 edge in shots on goal.