Week 7: Taking a Look at DC-Red Bulls

April 13, 2013: D.C. United 0, Red Bulls 2

So they finally put it all together.

Last week's debacle against the Chicago Fire didn't exactly inspire confidence (just listen to this podcast...) and Saturday's Atlantic Cup match-up was exactly the kind of game where the MetroBulls continue a downward spiral toward mediocrity.

Instead, they scored two goals and came away with three points on the road. And most importantly, the held onto the lead. The three points vault the team into fifth place, five points off the pace set by the Montreal Impact and eight points shy of league-leading FC Dallas.

The key takeaway from this game will be if the Red Bulls can build some momentum heading into the next two games -- Wednesday against Sporting Kansas City and Saturday against the New England Revolution. If they beat Sporting Wednesday, they can vault even further up the table. Three points would bring them even with Sporting (second in the East, third in the league) on points.

Then again, we thought that'd happen after the Philadelphia game...

Positives

• After flashes of brilliance here and there, everything finally came together for 90 minutes.
• Luis Robles, who looked like a liability against Chicago, played well, making a few saves down the stretch to keep the clean sheet.
• Roy Miller didn't implode and cost the team points...
• The team got their first road win of the season, and earned Head Coach Mike Petke his first ever.
• Let's be honest, this one feels really good.

Negatives

• You can convincingly argue that the Red Bulls should be getting that result against D.C. Our friends down in Washington have four points and two goals for in six games, awfulness eclipsed only by the Seattle Sounders (two points in five games) and the New England Revolution (one goal in five games).

Notable Quotes

Thierry Henry, via the New York Post...

The most important thing for us is to get the three points and also not to concede a goal. We haven't done that away from home in a while and that was important today.

Dax McCarty, via the Post...

I just think tactically, we were a lot smarter. We knew we were coming on the road, we respect D.C. on the road, especially at RFK. We know they're dangerous. It was just a good change of mentality. I felt the first half, it was pretty even. I felt we created some pretty clear-cut chances and you know, we scored two good goals. Defensively, we kept our shape really well. Our main focus this week was when we lost the ball, to get all ten guys behind the ball and make sure we have good shape and not get counter attacked because ultimately, that's what lost us the game in Chicago. So, it was just a real professional performance from us. I don't think we'll win any style points, but I don't think we care at this point. It was all about getting it done on the road against our biggest rival, D.C. It feels great.

Relevant Stats

Source