Sure, the Red Bulls won the Supporters’ Shield to finally break the Curse of Caricola, but their heartbreaking home-field hex in the playoffs is still very much alive. Despite the best record in Major League Soccer, the Red Bulls squandered a lead at home and lost 2-1 to the Houston Dynamo in extra time to crash out of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“It’s terrible. I guess you can’t exorcise every demon in one year of this club. We exorcised one of them. But hats off to Houston: They’re a playoff team. They’ve proved that,’’ coach Mike Petke said. “Listen, we did it to ourselves these last two games. [But] it doesn’t take away how proud we are of these guys.’’
After Sunday’s disappointing 2-2 draw in Houston — Jamison Olave getting an ill-advised red card and the Red Bulls blowing a two-goal second-half lead — they needed to win Wednesday to advance. They scored first and dominated play all night, but conceded an equalizer and then Omar Cummings’ winner in extra time to fall 4-3 on aggregate before 22,264 crushed fans at Red Bull Arena.
“It’s very disappointing. We gave them a gift, an early Christmas present,’’ midfielder Tim Cahill said.
“They didn’t create hardly anything; we gifted them goals. … Nothing much to say except they took their very few chances. They’re an ugly team to play against. They destroy the game. … But you have to give credit them, to come here and beat us on our own turf, and come back from one-nil down.’’
Against a tired team playing its third game in a week, the Red Bulls held a 23-9 edge in shots and 9-3 advantage in shots on target. But after Bradley Wright-Phillips gave them the lead in the 23rd minute, Ibrahim Sekagya’s giveaway in the 36th handed former MetroStar Brad Davis an equalizer.
Then Cummings scored in the 104th minute — sliding between Sekagya and Markus Holgersson — to end the Red Bulls’ season.
“It’s personal. … I’m so disappointed and empty. It’s hard,’’ Holgersson said. “Of the four goals we gave them three. It’s not good enough.’’
Oh, but painfully familiar. The Red Bulls had been the top seed and the form club, 6-0-3 over their last nine games, unbeaten since Aug. 25 and undefeated at home since June 1 — but their home-field disadvantage in the postseason reared its head yet again.
The Red Bulls have lost all four of their home playoff matches since their $200 million arena opened in 2010, and are 0-5-2 since their last playoff victory at home, on Oct. 22, 2005 at Giants Stadium. And between Olave’s red card Sunday and Sekagya’s giveaway Wednesday — minutes after he appeared to tweak his hamstring — they have nobody to blame but themselves.
“We were celebrating after Chicago, winning the Supporters’ Shield and it’s great for the club, but we didn’t manage to go where we wanted to go,’’ Thierry Henry said. “It’s a great one for Mike, first-year coach winning the Supporters’ Shield. But you know the rules: You have to win the playoffs to be champion. We didn’t manage to do that.’’
Houston — which has won two MLS Cups and made the last two finals — goes on to face Sporting KC in the conference finals, while the Red Bulls go home to ponder what went wrong in the playoffs — again.