By BRIAN LEWIS
It’s a sad statement that in 13 years no Red Bulls/MetroStars coach had ever debuted with a regulation win. Not one. But _ thanks to Kevin Goldthwaite and a stingy defense _ Juan Carlos Osorio changed that with last night’s 2-0 smothering of feeble Columbus.
It looks like the Colombian is changing a lot of things around these parts.
For one, the Red Bulls defend. All eleven of them. As a unit. Imagine that. Shocking for a team that leaked 45 goals last year, third-worst in MLS.
Even with star striker Jozy Altidore bruising his knee Thursday in practice and joining injured starters Dane Richards and Hunter Freeman on the sideline _ forcing Osorio to start rookie Luke Sassano wide right and go to rookie Danleigh Borman in the second half _ they kept a clean sheet.
There was a lot to like about last night, and very little to gripe about. Sure, both rookies showed jitters. And yes, Jeff Parke picked up a pair of yellows, sent off in the 81st minute and suspended for Dallas. But with coaches just 1-6-3 in their debuts _ including Bora Milutinovic’s shootout victory in his 1998 debut _ Osorio couldn’t have asked for much more.
OK, well maybe having Parke next weekend. Of Parke, he said “I think you have to be disappointed with the red card. I will not deny that, and if I am honest, I told him with his experience that’s unacceptable.’’
The Red Bulls moved Kevin Goldthwaite from left back to center back, and he excelled. We all know the 25-year-old struggled last year after arriving from Toronto, then suffered a season-ending knee injury. And there’s been a lot of hate thrown his way. But chew on this quote:
“In my opinion we had the best player in the game today in Kevin Goldthwaite,’’ Osorio said. “Goldthwaite showed that in the air he’s very competitive and very good, and his distribution in the back was very good. And if I recall right he only gave one ball away in the first half. He’s very competitive and good in one-on-one situations.’’
He sure was back in Houston days, and was last night. That’s a good sign. Osorio didn’t say whether Goldthwaite would start centrally next weekend, but either way, even if they sign Scottish defender Chris Innes _ who’ll arrive Tuesday for a 10-day trial _ he’s a player they’ll need.