Preseason Look: NY Red Bulls

For the 5th Eastern Conference team evaluation, we've got 2019 Supporters' Sheild winning Red Bulls who have been mostly good for years now. Before we get to the roster, let's update some team vitals:

		Player Ratings		TransferMarkt Value (000)
	Team	Starters	Bench	Starters	Bench
1	ATL	70.9	65.9	$ 40,695	$ 4,703
2	NYR	69.7	64.9	$ 15,653	$ 2,903
3	CLB	69.3	66.2	$ 19,125	$ 3,240
4	PHI	68.0	56.1	$ 8,015	$ 4,106
5	FCC	67.5	64.7	$ 8,538	$ 3,398

Atlanta is still on top of my leaderboard, with NYRB and Columbus not far behind. I've got that table sorted by "Starters" average player rating, which is why NY are edging out Columbus. Looking over to the right you see that the Crew have a better bench and more value on the roster.

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NEW YORK RED BULLS

New York has a hole to fill with Tyler Adams getting promoted up to RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga and their bench being slightly thin in the central midfield department. Right now I've got Florian Valot or Alex Muyl trying to fill Adams' shoes, but both are a measurable drop off. 

It is entirely possible that this opens the door for 18-year-old Ben Mines, who is with the U19 US National team, to move in and get regular time. The Red Bulls, more than any other MLS team perhaps, are comfortable inserting young players. Particularly regional ones. Mines seems to have a bright future.

Rating	Name	Position	FM19	FIFA	WS
72	Bradley Wright-Phillips	Centre-Forward	71	78	72
71	Kemar Lawrence	Left-Back	66	74	71
71	Kaku	Attacking Midfield	68	75	71
71	Aaron Long	Centre-Back	67	73	71
71	Michael Murillo	Right-Back	65	72	71
71	Tim Parker	Centre-Back	68	73	71
70	Sean Davis	Central Midfield	69	71	70
69	Luis Robles	Goalkeeper	68	74	69
68	Daniel Royer	Left Winger	65	74	68
67	Amro Tarek	Centre-Back	67	71	66
67	Connor Lade	Right-Back	69	67	67
67	Florian Valot	Right Winger	59	67	72
67	Ryan Meara	Goalkeeper	66	67	69
66	Alex Muyl	Right Winger	66	66	67
64	Derrick Etienne	Left Winger	57	68	64
63	Anatole Abang	Centre-Forward	64	62	63
63	Vincent Bezecourt	Attacking Midfield	61	63	66
63	Brian White	Centre-Forward	57	63	63
62	Andreas Ivan	Right Winger	58	64	62
62	Kyle Duncan	Right-Back	59	62	73
62	Cristian Cásseres	Central Midfield	57	62	62
57	Marcus Epps	Right Winger	57	63
56	Ben Mines	Right Winger	56	59
56	Jean-Christophe Koffi	Midfielder	56	59
53	Evan Louro	Goalkeeper	53	59
0	Rece Buckmaster	Defender
0	Roy Boateng	Defender
0	Sean Nealis	Centre-Back
0	János Löbe	Left Midfield

As far as the rest of the roster, they are returning a bunch of starters and MLS familiar faces like Robles, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Tim Parker, Aaron Long, and Kemar Lawrence. I think the biggest battle for the team will be whether or not they want to climb the mountain again. They will be a hard out with the defense they have right now. All of them rate above 70, which means good and no weak links.

One final note here: There are a few reports that Kaku might be on the way out. If so, then it's another team in the East that will be missing a number 10. Either way, NYRB seems to find a player that fits in well enough, often even within their own team dev system. This team is a comfortable playoff team.

[podcast] Red Cards in Helltown: Conf Finals Special

Rick Gethin, David Burgin, Justin Bell and Larry Johnson talk about the Columbus Crew SC win in the first leg against The NY Red Bulls and look forward to next week's matchup.

Crew SC vs. Red Bulls Sunday

MLS Cup Playoffs kick up here again on November 22nd. After a long international break, it's the Conference Finals portion of the event. If you'll turn to the back cover of the playbill you were given when you entered you will see a description of this event. It's a two-legged series, winner advances on aggregate goals, away goals serve as tie breakers.

November 22, 2015
Columbus Crew SC vs. NY Red Bulls
MAPFRE Stadium, 5:00 PM on ESPN

Portland Timbers vs. FC Dallas
Providence Stadium, 7:30 PM EST on FS1

The reverse fixtures happen a full week later on November 29th. Times are TBD.

CREW SC VS RED BULLS, WHAT TO EXPECT

Having played three times already, these two teams are very familiar with the 2015 versions of themselves (does that make sense?). Each match finished 2-1, NY winning two of three. They've been tightly matched affairs. Each very similar in style of play as well as general statistics.

It's pretty amazing what NY manager Jesse Marsch has done as far as consistency with his team. From the start of the year to the end. The story on the Crew SC side is a little different in that the team lost its footing early in the year when LB Hernan Grana left the team abruptly. Gregg Berhalter's style of play didn't change, but the team had to scramble a bit to find an adequate replacement.

The match will look and feel similar to the last time these two lined up in early October. It started with a flurry of goals but eventually settled into a tight match. Connor Lade and Mike Grella were easily able to handle the speedy Ethan Finlay. Once they were up, it forced Crew SC into their default (and less effective) mode of just pumping crosses into the box (27!).

What ended up happening early in that game will be the key to this one: Justin Meram. NY will undoubtedly work to negate Ethan Finlay's runs and cut off the supply to Kei Kamara. No other team in MLS relied as much on two attacking players as the Crew with those guys. This leaves the match up to Meram and his ability with the ball to get off shots. He'll be coming off a long trip to Asia for the Iraqi national team so it's difficult to predict exactly where he'll be in body, but I think his mind will be right. He's improved a great deal there this year (from my perspective).

Be it Meram, Kamara or Finlay on the Crew side or Wright-Phillips, Grella and Sam with NY... this game will be about finishing big opportunities.

Here are the averages from the three games this year, two of these games were played in Columbus:

Shots - Crew 15, NY 12
On Target - 5, 5
Goals - 1.3, 1.7
Passing - 74%, 75%
Possession - 50%, 50%

LASTLY - WEATHER

Contrary to what you might think, Columbus stays on the mild side of freezing until the end of they year. By that, I mean 40-ish when the sun is out. Scheduling isn't doing the Crew any favors though. The game start on Sunday means that the 2nd half is going to get cold. By 6 PM it will be below freezing.

To those going - bundle up, but don't fret. Your reward will be provided no matter the result. Skies will be clear, a beautiful late Autumn sunset awaits.

Carryover Minutes Strike Again

It's the ops manager in me. When I first started digging into MLS stats to get a quick understanding of the league I made a beeline to player minutes. What I believed (and still believe) is that a stable roster is representative of a stable organization.

I've been on both sides of the turnover scenario. Even in the simplest situations, when you are starting something new you have heavy turnover. Same goes for when you make the wrong staffing decision or leadership change. More often than not, though, burning through resources (staff, money, materials, etc) is an unhealthy sign.

Conversely, maintaining a stable group (from the front office on down to the players) is a sign of a healthy organization.

Rules and regulations in Major League Soccer work against stability. Budgeting (salary cap) each team is just one mechanism the league uses, but it has the greatest impact. You see it most when a player improves (which is what we all want right?). A good year means a lot of players are playing at a higher level and want more money. This is expensive and a team's budget does not increase enough to keep up with it. What ends up happening is teams letting go of players they would rather not or making sacrifices down-roster with younger players.

It's a reality of MLS, but managing it has clear rewards.

Here's a look at how teams fared in returning minutes from the previous two seasons, on the combined table of 2014 to 2015...

POINTS PER GAME MEDIAN - TABLE POSITION (pts)
1.72 - Top 5 (58 pts)
1.64 - Top Half (56)
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1.23 - Bottom Half (42)
1.41 - Bottom 5 (48)

The difference between the top and bottom half is where to look, here. The jump you see in the bottom five belongs to both Sporting KC and the NY Red Bulls. It suggests instability in their organizations, though. If you are familiar with those two teams it sort of proves true. The Red Bulls are riding a sort of high post-Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill group and Sporting has cleared (significant way) for both Graham Zusi and Matt Besler. Looking at this way suggests that NYRB might be in for a bad 2016. Write it down.

Three of the remaining four teams in the MLS Cup playoffs finished close to 70% in regards to bringing guys back from the previous year and fall in the top half when looking at the last two years.

% POSSIBLE RETURNING MINS FROM 2013 & 2014 - TEAM - (MLS rank)
58% - FC Dallas (7th)
57% - Portland Timbers (8th)
55% - Columbus Crew SC (9th)
35% - NY Red Bulls (last)

Again, NY is the oddball here. I asked Justin Bell about them during this site's last podcast because I'm really at a loss as to why / how they had such a Supporters' Sheild winning year. I really like their team this year, but perhaps it is entirely possible that, be it this postseason or next year, midnight is quickly approaching on their special season.

The further back I go with "carryover minutes" the clearer the end of the road is for some of the better teams. Success isn't sustainable in the league's current format.

Much has been made about the final four in the MLS playoffs this year in regards to budget. The way I see it though, success this year means the Grim Reaper awaits in the next as player wages increase at a rate greater than the salary cap.

Congrats to the final four. Best of luck navigating that salary cap next year. More importantly, my best goes to the players whose careers are derailed by it.

Predictions: Crew Rd 18, NY Away

The Crew travel to Red Bull Arena today to take on, uh.. the Red Bulls. 7:00 PM EST kick off, 5:00 pm in Costa Rica for the fans that might want a like at three Ticos returning to league play.

GAME NOTES
CLB: Gonzalez and Francis available.
CLB: Williams still out, Higuain back.
CLB: Roster availability still unstable after rock solid start
NYR: At mostly full strength
NYR: Unbeaten in last 4, last two drawn. Score a lot at home
NYR: Fellow Costa Rican Roy Miller likely back

TEN PREDICTIONS
Number on left is percentage accuracy picking 2014 Columbus Crew results only.

53% WHOSCORED.COM ... NY RED BULLS
Graham Ruthven thinks; "There were signs of aggression and determination against the Coloradao Rapids and they will need some more of that against New York." 1-0 is his final guess in favor of NY.

470% COLUMBUS DISPATCH ... NY RED BULLS
"Until the Crew attack shows signs of its early-season potency, allowing any goals means the visitors will be happy to return home with one point." - Adam Jardy. Pick up a Dispatch, pros... obviously.

41% GOAL.COM ... DRAW (NY LEAN)
Pretty matter of fact from Thomas Floyd this week. "Field Report" reader predictions likes NY.

35% MLSSOCCER ... NY RED BULLS
All up on the Red Bulls this week. 5 for the win, one draw.

35% WIN DRAW WIN ... NY RED BULLS
This one is pretty close this week but leaning NY 2-1 and 37% in the "your vote" section (Crew 28%).

29% BET365 ... NY RED BULLS
4/5 Home side, 14/5 draw, 16/5 Crew. Interesting the fine margin between draw and away win this week. Otherwise pretty stander home favorite.

29% HOME TEAM ... NY RED BULLS

12% TABLE POSITION ... NY RED BULLS
Just barely. Teams have identical records.

--% WV HOOLIGAN ... (no picks)

--% MASSIVE REPORT ... (no pick)
Head over to Massive Report for Patrick Murphy's latest on the Columbus Crew.

MY PREDICTION
Looking forward to the regular season getting its groove back. This one, like so many games during and around the World Cup, just feels strange. Almost like summer camp or summer school.

What sticks out to me is how many goals the Red Bulls have been scoring at home over the last six matches (14). Combine that with Henry, Wright-Phillips (league leader in goals) and a motivated Cahill and this one could get ugly fast (even if Gonzales is back).

The Crew desperately need to find a win or two over the next few weeks. Not only to find some better footing in the standings but also to get fan interest back up.

Crew 1, NY 1 - Recap

M. Parkhurst and T. Henry, April 26, 2014. Source Photo: Rick Osentoski, USA Today Sports

Columbus and NY play to an early season draw on a cool evening at Crew Stadium.

1ST HALF (1-0)
NY had a great midweek game against Houston and looked to carry it over to this one in Columbus. They had 3-4 excellent chances, which was great for them, only problem was that Eric Alexander was the one taking them. He bungled a couple within the first 10 minutes that he should have finished.

Eventually, the Crew and Berhalter's possession process took hold of the match and things settled into a low speed kind-of affair. Chances were had but nothing got through either keeper.

Around the 40th minute Hector Jimenez ripped in a great cross from the right hand side that found Justin Meram right in front of goal. Meram was pulled down (I guess?) as his shot clanged off the top crossbar. A penalty was called. Jairo Arrieta stepped up and finished it.

2ND HALF (0-1)
Not a whole lot of change from the first half. Pace of the match was methodical (slow). It was pretty clear that NY wanted one but they didn't over do it (as they tend to do sometimes). This was their third game in 11 days so maybe it should have been expected.

In the 66th minute their efforts paid off and the goal came from a nice Lloyd Sam cross into Bradley Wright-Phillips (who's been in form). From there the Crew tried to stay on the ball as much as possible and pass NY into submission. It sorta worked and the game ended.

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS ONE (1-1)
Just like the last few Crew home games this one lacked energy. Their appeared to be a large crowd on hand for the numerous discounted tickets and vending specials but that didn't really translate down to the play (for either side). Good tackles, pinpoint crosses, smart on the ball play got no noticeable cheers from the crowd. The only real energy from the crowd I really picked up on was open space runs of Dominic Oduro (who seems increasingly concerned with his hairdos week to week).

Opponents of the Crew are packing the middle and forcing the ball out to overlapping fullbacks (Josh Williams and Waylon Francis). While this plays into what the team wants to do, you also get two guys completely gassed by halftime. On top of tired legs there, you also have the simple fact that there isn't anyone to cross it in to.

Justin Meram was a serviceable replacement for suspended Bernardo Anor but, again, Meram isn't much of a midfielder (which has been covered at length on this site already).

Ultimately, a draw against NY is fine for the Crew but they do have to start getting three points in home matches. They are four games on now and only five points with a negative one goal difference. That puts them way towards the bottom.

MORE ON FORM
The Crew were clearly a very prepared team going into the season. Catching a DC team that were still working on chemistry and a Philly team that is turning out to be, well... a Hackworth coached Philly team.

By just removing the 3-0 win in DC, Columbus drops firmly into mid-table if you only look at the last 6 matches. Combine that with below average home form and there is reason for some concern.

Overall however, the new coaching staff seems to be satisfied with the point total thus far as well as the direction things are going.

Next up for Columbus is Sporting KC away on Sunday, May 4th. A good performance down there will put some of my concerns back off to the side.

Crew Rd 7, Home vs NY Red Bulls

The New York Red Bulls are in town this evening to take on the Columbus Crew. Weather is going to be on the cool side over off Hudson Street today so another week you've got to bundle up! Kickoff scheduled for 7:30 PM EST.

 GAME NOTES 
CLB: Have saved 3 pts (of 11 total) with goals after 90 mins
CLB: Anor out (RC), Meram likely to start
CLB: Hot start is getting further away
NYR: Beat up on Dynamo midweek 4-0
NYR: Henry might not be making trip
NYR: Cahill could return to lineup

 TEN MATCH PREDICTIONS 
Percent on left is accuracy in predicting result of Columbus Crew games only.

50% WIN DRAW WIN ... DRAW (NY LEAN)
Got our first split of the year from this outlet. Wiseguys like a 2-2 Draw but the "Your Vote" section has NY edging out the Crew (37% to 28%, draw at 34%).

33% COLUMBUS DISPATCH ... DRAW
Adam Jardy looks at recent results and thinks this one will come out even. Lots of NHL stuff in the paper today, so if that's your thing, head out and pick up a paper!

33% GOAL.COM ... NY RED BULLS
No name listed on the match preview today but whoever it is comes out strong for NY. "Another strong showing would likely be enough to pick up points against a Columbus team that has struggled of late."

33% WHOSCORED.COM ... DRAW (NY LEAN)
Graham Ruthven back on the scene today to tell us NY "should pick up three points at Columbus, but we've been saying that all season." Ultimately, going with a 1-1 draw.

17% BET365 ... COLUMBUS CREW
Crew are favored again here today but the bettors out there seem to be getting off the Columbus train. 23/20 Crew, 12/5 Draw, 23/10 NY.

17% HOME TEAM ... COLUMBUS CREW
Columbus' home record not something to be desired.

17% MLSSOCCER ... COLUMBUS CREW
Team over at MLS HQ still all in with the Crew. Five of the six actually going with the home side today. Only one thinking somethings up in Matt Doyle, who picks Draw.

0% TABLE POSITION ... COLUMBUS CREW
Crew have the edge on NY still. That could actually change today.

0% WV HOOLIGAN ... DRAW
"Look for this one to be physical as well, but ultimately ending in a draw," says site scribe Drew Epperley.

n/a% MASSIVE REPORT ... no pick
Head on over to Pat Murphy's preview to found out which NY player Michael Parkhurst likes.

 MY THOUGHTS, HOW IT WILL PLAY 

Best player in MLS history

Much more important match for the Crew than it is for the Red Bulls today. A loss for the home side would mean 4 pts in 4 at Crew Stadium to start the year - bad form at home dooms MLS teams to bottom half.

A lot of people picking a draw today and I'm thinking that comes from the feeling we have one team on the rise and another slumping. Humans don't like to change their perceptions of things until they are forced too. Most out there still see the Crew as probably something they are not and on the other side see NY as a team that they are hesitant to call a winner even though they are in form and have, quite possibly, the best MLS player in history playing for them.

If Thierry Henry plays tonight it might be a long one for the Crew. Tim Cahill doesn't really impact the match as much but having both of them out doesn't make things any easier. On Wednesday NY looked scary good and they usually play well in Columbus.

If Berhalter starts Dominic Oduro or Justin Meram in the midfield for suspended Bernardo Anor we will probably see a fast paced open match, which is one that sort of favors NY.

We see. Stay warm out there Crew fans that aren't watching the Blue Jackets and aren't there just for the dollar night specials, and not there for the college discounted tickets, and not there just to get drunk in the supporters' section...

- wait, how many does that leave actually watching the game?

MR Post: Dispatch from Orlando

Spent some time gathering my thoughts on what I saw down in Orlando last weekend during the Disney Pro Soccer Classic. Head on over to Massive Report to check it out HERE.

Crew Rd 23, Win at Home

Federico Higuain puts on a great show as the Columbus Crew take down a NY Red Bulls team who were missing a couple of their brightest stars and head coach.

1ST HALF
With only one defensive mid in Wil Trapp and Bernardo Anor playing in the central attacking mid role the Columbus Crew opened up play in a way normally only seen in team reserve matches this year.

It might have been a little wasteful and no goals were scored but the Crew kept NY on their back foot most of the first half.

2ND HALF
Started out looking much like the first. It was clear that the absence of head coach Mike Petke meant the Red Bulls were going to keep it simple and defensive minded.

That changed in the 62nd minute with Jamison Olave committed a foul in the box on a restart. Federico Higuain stepped up and converted, putting the Crew up 1:0.

The game got a little more interesting from there as NY started venturing forward more. Unfortunately for them Peguy Luyindula and Ibrahim Sekagya (new signing) are no Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill.

Later, in the 76th minute, a bit of magic from Higuain as he chipped / dropped an amazingly skillful shot over the head of the NY goalkeeper.

The game sort of died from there.

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GAME OVER, THOUGHTS
• Higuain has been trying to hit a goal like his second one all season. He finally got it. Surprisingly, only his 2nd goal outside of penalties this year.

• NY was crippled without Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill, Kosuke Kimura, Lloyd Sam or coach Mike Petke in this game. All are listed as injured but really only Kimura was legit for this game. Were Columbus in NY; Henry, Cahill and Sam would have played.

• Columbus has developed somewhat of a reputation with star players. They don't make the trip. It's a unique issue that new owner Anthony Precourt will have to work out.

• The extra midfielder freed up Higuain like most team watchers expected. Bernardo Anor had a great game in the CAM role. He was giving new Red Bull Sekagya fits. Last night was one of Higuain's best games in a Crew uniform and a lot of that had to do with Anor in the middle (and Arrieta up top).

• NY's bench was very thin last night. Their subs; Akpan, Bover, Obekop have a combined 305 league minutes after last night.

• Wil Trapp had a splendid game. Not sure how else to describe it but I think splendid covers it. It's one of those performances that are fun to watch but get even better the next day when mulling over stats. 66 total passes and only four off the mark (94%). He plays within himself and all four of his misplaced passes were going forward but that one he connected on to Higuain for his goal worked.

• Crew are not making the playoffs so watching Trapp for this rest of this year will be one of the things to look forward too. Where does this leave Sanchez? Not sure. It could very well be that just the face the Crew were playing with one DM is what freed Trapp up and that Sanchez would have done just as well.

• Last night was the first game Precourt attended as owner of the Crew. He did a halftime interview on the Fox Sports broadcast where he looked like he was having fun as the owner of a pro sports team.

Predictions: Crew (H) v Red Bulls

Good Morning,

Nestled on the north east corner of the Ohio Expo Center and State Fair Grounds you'll find Crew Stadium and at 7:30 PM tonight NY Red Bulls are there playing soccer.

GAME NOTES
-CLB: 9 games since a draw
-CLB: Likely lineup changes/shakeup
-CLB: 16th in league
-NY: Only 3 clean sheets away this year
-NY: Looking to keep pace for Supporters' Shield
-NY: 3 Wins, 2 Draw in last 5.

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PREDICTIONS
(In no particular order)

1. WVHOOLIGAN.COM ... NY RED BULLS
"Sometimes when your backs are up against a wall you fight hard, that is what I am hoping to see out of the Crew in this one. The thing is, I’m not expecting it." - Drew Epperley. He thinks the final will be 2:1 NY.

2. WINDRAWWIN.COM ... NY RED BULLS
Large Stake on Away Win, 0:1 and NY gets 51% of the 'Your Votes' to win (29% Draw, 19% Crew).

3. MLSSOCCER.COM ... NY RED BULLS
MLS Team Pick 'em Six sees four votes for NY and the other two going Draw.

4. GOAL.COM ... NY RED BULLS
Keith Hickey on the mic today with the one line game preview: "New York is riding high, and victory over Robert Warzycha's side could put Mike Petke's men top of MLS." Also, further down the page NY is getting over 80% of the fan's predictions.

5. BET365.COM ... NY RED BULLS
First time this year that the Crew are not favored at home. While parity might exist within records on the table the back half of the season the betting lines become more predictive. Parity in MLS is a falsity. The league is more interested in burning teams down in the offseason and having them pick up the pieces during the 1st half of the year. By this time, the order of things is more or less set. 11/8 Red Bulls, 2/1 Crew (9/4 Draw).

6. COLUMBUS DISPATCH ... LEAN NY RED BULLS
Adam Jardy puts it best this week, "New York has shown a propensity to not show up on occasion, meaning the Crew has a chance at an upset, but predicting anything but a Red Bulls win would be blind optimism."

7. TABLE POSITION ... NY RED BULLS

8. HOME TEAM ... CREW

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MY THOUGHTS

The Crew are on a bad enough run that it is okay to start making sweeping generalizations and conclusions. One big one that will dog this franchise for years to come is stumbling through league expansion since 2009, not correcting and finding themselves in 16th place in the league. Not just in 2013 standing but as an overall organization.

Not correcting has put this team back at square one with new owner Anthony Precourt and is mysterious merry group of investors. Previous ownership allowed roots to run too deep and pulling them up will be difficult.

Now, with all that good cheer out of the way it will be refreshing for many to once again roll the ball out and play some soccer.

The Crew are still in a limbo period but I fully expect the players to give it their all tonight. Key to this match: Andy Gruenebaum is out again with a nagging shoulder injury and Matt Lampson is in.

Lampson proved last week that under sustained pressure he might let a few in so it will be important for the Crew backline to be solid tonight. Better than solid.

Should be an interesting and enjoyable game.

Crew Rd 12: Draw at NYRB

After leading twice, Columbus will feel a bit disappointed not to get all three points out of this messy affair.

1ST HALF
Eddie Gaven came off the first whistle looking like the Eddie Gaven fans are more accustom too. Even after assisting on Dominic Oduro's 2nd minute goal Gaven was going after loose balls, finding space to receive passes, drawing defenders out. His play lifted the Crew as they matched NY, for the most part, in quality of play during the half.

Oduro was injured on the goal he scored and was replaced (curiously) by Aaron Schoenfeld.

In the 31st minute Tim Cahill played a nice longish ball to Thierry Henry who, from the 18 yard box, blooped it over an off his line Andy Gruenebaum.

Some nervy type moments after that goal as Gruenebaum sometimes seems to lose confidence and composure after goals. Fortunately, NY was not able to get any real chances off before the half ended.

2ND HALF
Sensing that the Crew were going to play cautiously, the Red Bulls came out aggressive and impatient. Every pass they made was seemingly one searching for a quick goal. Columbus was up for it though, and held NY to just three total shots from the 45th minute to the 82nd.

In the 74th minute there was some controversy as Justin Meram was pushed in the back after mishitting a chance on goal in the box. The ref called the foul and Federico Higuain finished off the penalty shot putting the Crew up 2:1.

Things changed from there. They NY onslaught was on and it put the Crew against the wall a bit. In all the chaos towards the end the Red Bulls' Jonny Steele found Olave for a tying goal.

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FINAL NOTES / THOUGHTS
----------
• Injured Oduro's 8th minute sub; Aaron Schoenfeld, was subbed off for Ben Speas in the 62nd minute. Sub for sub isn't something that happens too often. Not clear of Schoenfeld was tired or just not playing well.

• Speas came on and Meram appeared to move up top in a more attacking roll.

• Meram found the right spots and Gaven was finding him well, just he was way off on his shots. He is rusty but given more time he will find the goal.

• Foul in the Box: The problem with the call is that it was after Meram had already flubbed the shot. It was a sloppy play that permeates MLS play. They are not consistently called in this league because of the talent levels in defending.

• NY's decision to start Dax McCarty was a mistake. Good player but results have been poor with him playing. Doesn't fit.

• No updates on Dominic Oduro's injury, didn't look serious. Interestingly, Oduro has left the game immediately after scoring twice this year due to injury.

• I don't mind the line up decisions for this game. It felt more like a Crew team to have players like Eric Gehrig, Kevan George and Justin Meram out there. I don't think results would be much different were it them or the regular starters. It's club style of play and coaching that puts them mid-table.