The ball – and the game – was hanging in the balance, waiting to be won. And that’s exactly what Tim Cahill did, outmuscling Galaxy defender AJ DelaGarza to Juninho’s bending extra time free kick and heading it home to give his Red Bulls’ as 1-0 victory over the two-time MLS Cup champs, and a tie atop the Supporters’ Shield standings.
Both Cahill and Juninho – big-name veterans who had been criticized earlier this season – have come up big of late. And they were never bigger than today, when – in front of a loud, rain-drenched record-tying crowd of 25,219 at Red Bull Arena – they combined to pull out a game in which they were largely outplayed, a game even captain Thierry Henry admits they wouldn’t have won a year ago.
“I’m just happy to score,’’ said Cahill, whose 91st-minute goal lifted the Red Bulls to 7-3-4, their 24 points tied with FC Dallas for the most in MLS. “I asked Thierry to put the block on (Omar) Gonzalez, because he’s a big guy heading everything away. I knew where Juni was going to put it. I knew it was going to be dangerous, it was just a matter of getting contact.
“It’s good when you’ve got a chance to produce in big games and I’ve seem to come up trumps lately, so it’s nice.’’
All four of Cahill’s goals have come in his last five games, with three of them coming in the final ten minutes of games. That clutch DNA was on display again when the Australian midfielder got a pick from Henry, out-muscled a defender, and nodded home the winner on a day they may not have deserved to win.
“They’re a very good team. They play great football, and the intensity, some of our boys said we’re in for a game at halftime. We had to step the tempo up at halftime. They had too much time on the ball, turning, and it was frustrating. We said let’s get into these guys, see if they want a bit of a battle,’’ said Cahill, adding “They’re a team that doesn’t like to get roughed up.’’
Galaxy coach Bruce Arena certainly agreed with Henry on one thing: He didn’t think his Galaxy deserved to lose.
“That’s not good. That play tonight can’t happen. That’s 90% goalkeeper ball there. You saw that goal,’’ said Arena. “You have to make a play; they made a play, we didn’t; that’s the difference in the game.’’
That play started with Juninho. After a back-and-forth game – on in which the Red Bulls had trouble with the Galaxy’s off the ball runs in the first half, before finally getting ahold of the ball in the second half – the 38-year-old Brazilian bent a perfect ball in, and Henry picked Gonzalez to give Cahill space.
“I watched the Knicks game and tried to pick up some stuff from the guys,’’ said Henry, who acknowledged this game was more hard work than work of art – and sometimes that’s a good thing. “I don’t think we played well today, I don’t think that LA deserved to lose. I actually thought they way they were playing, especially at the end that they deserved to win the game.
“But since I’ve been here I think we would have lost that game before. The thing that I learned today is that we can win these types of games. Like I said, I thought LA was better than us today, but we won. It is nice…It is always a good thing to try to rectify stuff when you win and the way (the Galaxy) play is the right way.’’
Centerback Jamison Olave bailed out the Red Bulls time and time again in the first half, until the defense found its footing in the second half. And in injury time, Juninho served up the winner on a silver platter for Cahill.
“We’ve gotten to know each other a lot better. It’s always been part of my game to put those balls in from the side, not just him but two or three other guys that attack the ball really well on those set pieces,’’ said Juninho. “Tim’s got great timing on the ball and my ball is pretty quick in the area, it just seemed to work it out.’’