The Houston Dynamo wasn’t dynamic enough to beat the Red Bulls today. Perhaps if they called themselves the Dynamos, plural, they wouldn’t play as though they had only a single man on the field, as they did during the Red Bulls’ 3-0 victory in front of 12,549 rowdy soccer fans at Giants Stadium.
“We are extremely pleased and proud of the effort of [our] team against a very good team,” Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio said of the club’s third straight victory which improved their record to 8-6-7 (31 points). Houston (8-5-8, 32 points, first place in the Western Conference) had won four straight matches prior to today and is the two-time defending MLS Cup champion. The Red Bulls’ dominant performance was especially impressive when one considers they were missing three starters.
“That was the most pleasing thing,” Osorio said. “Three very important players were missing and the guys made the most of it. That’s what this whole game is about.”
Defenseman Gabriel Cichero was suspended, defenseman Jeff Parke was out with an injury and midfielder Jorge Rojas was absent due to passport problems. Missing such crucial contributors would often spell doom against an excellent Houston club. But the Red Bulls seem to have found something over the last couple weeks and have put together their first three-game win streak since April 2007.
“Defensively, we look like a team now,” Osorio said. “We look like a very well-balanced team. We can attack, we have some threat on the flanks. We can defend properly against tough teams and now offensively we can score goals. Hopefully we will continue to grow as a team and the spirit of the last three games will continue for the rest of the season.”
That spirit he speaks of is evident in the locker room. The players echoed their coach’s sentiment and spoke of becoming more familiar with each other on the field, and of guys stepping up to fill the void when others are out.
Juan Pablo Angel has been a constant for the Red Bulls this season. He scored the first goal of the match on a header assisted by Dave van den Bergh and Mike Magee during the eighth minute. It was his eighth goal of the season, and Angel acknowledged the significance of an early lead.
“We talked about it before the game – that we have to get off to a good start,” Angel said.
Midfielder Dane Richards scored his first goal of the season on an assist from Seth Stammler during the 26th minute and the Red Bulls took the 2-0 lead into halftime. Magee scored the third goal during the 60th minute on an assist from Diego Jimenez.
“The last couple of games we’ve been scoring early and keeping our foot on the gas, keeping the pressure on them,” said Magee, who scored a goal in three straight games for the first time in his career.
With a comfortable 3-0 lead, Osorio removed Angel and van den Bergh from the match during the 64th minute to rest minor injuries they are dealing with. Goalkeeper Jon Conway recorded four saves to earn his second straight shutout.
The only negative of the match for the Red Bulls was Stammler picking up his fourth yellow card of the season in the first half. If he gets slapped with another caution during the next three games he will be suspended for a game.
The Red Bulls are playing excellent soccer – they’re 3-1-2 in their last six matches – but cannot afford to lose another key player with nine matches remaining and the chase for the playoffs heating up. The Red Bulls are currently tied for the final playoff spot. The team’s confidence is growing along with its points total.
“We showed we’re back in contention now,” Angel said.