RED BULLS GIVE UP LAST-MINUTE PENALTY KICK, TIE UNION, 2-2 On Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena, the Red Bulls, playing with 10 men the majority of the game, sent wave after wave of attack against D.C. United, who bunkered in and nearly held out for the tie until conceding a last-minute goal in a Red Bulls’ victory. On Saturday in PPL Park, a tired Red Bulls team was hanging on to a one-goal lead against the Philadelphia Union, but like D.C. United three days before, one mistake proved costly. The Red Bulls conceded a penalty kick on a questionable call, and former Red Bull Sebastien Le Toux converted in the 92nd minute as the Eastern Conference rivals played to a 2-2 tie before 18,091 in Chester, Pa. On the decisive play, the ball was played into the box to forward Pedro Ribeiro, who was trying to shoulder off Red Bulls defender Ibrahim Sekagya to get a shot off. Sekagya went down and, as their feet tangled, Ribeiro fell to the wet turf and referee Allen Chapman pointed to the spot. “From my point of view, I definitely didn’t think it was a PK,” Red Bulls defender Chris Duvall said. “I was actually shocked, but they were complaining about the PK we got, so I guess it goes both ways.” The play was right in front of goalkeeper Luis Robles, who tried to be as diplomatic as he could, but didn’t agree with the call. “It’s tough to say,” he said. “From what I recall, it was just a bunch of touches, feet getting caught up. I don’t think there was pushing more one way or the other. Of course it’s a difficult call, especially at that part of the game.” The Red Bulls had a questionable penalty kick of their own in the 37th minute when Union defender Ethan White pulled down Peguy Luyindula, who converted for his fifth goal of the season. Thierry Henry made it 2-0 in the 40th minute. Duvall threaded a perfect cross from the right to Henry in the circle, where the captain struck it first time and lined a shot on net. Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath went down to block the ball, but it took a hop and skipped high off the wet turf, and he could only get a hand on it as it bounced into the net. It was Duvall’s first career MLS point. Considering their packed schedule, a two-goal lead for the Red Bulls could have turned into an easy second half and a chance to relax and control the game, but it was not to be. The Union cut the deficit in half barely a minute later. The ball was played out to Andrew Wenger on the left and he put a move on Duvall to get a step as he neared the end line. Wenger crossed the ball in front where Red Bulls defender Jamison Olave was in position to clear it. But instead of taking a step toward the ball, Olave let the ball come to him, so when he hit the ball to clear it, Ribeiro had time to get a foot in, and the ball deflected off Ribeiro’s foot and skittered into the far side of the net. The Red Bulls went into defensive mode with 35 minutes to play when Henry’s troublesome Achilles began to act up. Red Bulls coach Mike Petke replaced him with Ruben Bover, but without Henry the Red Bulls had trouble maintaining possession, and the Union attacked relentlessly until they earned the decisive penalty kick. “I looked at the guys in the 70th minute and I was just praying they had enough to finish it off,” Robles said. “Our defensive line did everything they could and left it on the field, and the two guys in the middle, Dax (McCarty) and Eric (Alexander), were huge for us. They were huge for us on Wednesday and they were huge tonight.” “It was a story of two halves,” Henry said. “My goal was kind of lucky. I didn’t see the penalty at the end. I guess you can argue, but what is the point? Them scoring before halftime gave them the belief in the second half. But you have to be honest. In the second half they were all over us. It’s hard to concede the tying goal (at the end) but you could see it coming, although I didn’t want it to come. Overall, the draw is a fair result. Having a draw here is not a bad result.” Indeed, the Red Bulls played three division opponents in eight days – D.C. United, Sporting Kansas City and the Union – and earned seven of a possible nine points. “We have to sit back and evaluate our week,” Robles said. “We had three difficult opponents, three conference opponents, everyone was in the mix, it’s not like we were playing someone at the bottom of the table. If we can maintain that for the rest of the season, we’re going to be in pretty good position.” Duvall agreed. “In the grand scheme of things, seven points is a good week, but you can’t help feeling disappointed,” he said. “We could walk out with nine points, we were a minute away, but seven points is still a good week.” Frank Giase: fgiase@gmail Twitter: @FrankGiase
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 00:18:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015