It took almost two full years. Think about that for a second. Before Saturday night's win in Seattle, the Red Bulls hadn't won an MLS regular season road game in nearly two calendar years. May 10, 2008 to be exact, was the last time the Red Bulls won a league road match, which was a 2-1 victory over David Beckham (remember him?) and the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. Since Juan Pablo Angel's late strike to knock off the Galaxy in 2008, the Red Bulls had lost 20 matches and drawn 7 in the regular season on the road. If you believe in being due, the Red Bulls had been WAY overdue to win a road game.
What's even more shocking perhaps than the winless streak ending is where it was broken. If you were an oddsmaker, and you were handicapping each Red Bulls road game, the one match you'd probably set as the longest shot on the schedule was Saturday's game. The Sounders have been a very good home squad in their short history, and Qwest Field is widely viewed as the most intense stadium atmosphere in the league. But it seems as though the new brass in New York has brought a new culture, and the Red Bulls must have a lot of confidence now after their hot and surprising start to the season.
For the first time in two years, the Red Bulls have an opportunity to start a road winning streak, and you'd have to think they have a pretty decent shot to do so, with Chivas USA next up on the docket. The Goats are off to a slow start in 2010, having yet to score a goal in two matches. To be honest, Chiva sdid not look good in the SuperClasico on Thursday. It looks like they'll have trouble scoring goals this season, and with the Red Bulls keeping two straight clean sheets, it looks like a favorable matchup for the Red Bulls. Also, unlike Qwest Field, the Home Depot Center for a Chivas USA match is generally not the toughest place to play in the league.
We'll have more recap and analysis of the Red Bulls 1-0 win against Seattle, including player ratings, and later in the week we'll look more closely at the Red Bulls' upcoming tilt with Chivas USA.