April 7: Chicago Fire 3, New York Red Bulls 1
Over the course of the season there are going to be games you'd rather forget. This was one of them. You just wonder why it had to come at such an inopportune time.
The Red Bulls followed their first win of the season with an absolute debacle on the road against the Fire. This was their chance to build some momentum. There was a lack of finishing (hardly surprising), there were defensive lapses, there were goalkeeping lapses. On top of it all, it was pretty tough to watch.
Up until the win against Philadelphia, the Red Bulls seemed to be building toward something. They had good pieces here and there, it was just a matter of putting it all together. Sunday seemed like a huge step back. They were lucky to get out of the first half with a 1-1 draw after Chris Rolfe botched a penalty -- maybe things finally breaking the Red Bulls way! -- then, they proceeded to implode in the second.
With a team hitting second gear as far as coalescing goes, this is the sort of thing that should be behind them.
Positives
- Not a whole lot here. It seemed like things might fall the Red Bulls way for the first time this season when the first half whistle blew. If luck can be a positive, then I guess that counts. I guess.
Negatives
- Peguy Luyindula does everything well except scoring.
- Speaking of doing everything well except scoring, Tim Cahill has to start putting the ball in the net or at least having a more obvious presence. He was credited with an assist on Jamison Olave's goal, but he's got to start doing more.
- The Red Bulls best back line is Heath Pearce, Markus Holgersson, Olave, and Brandon Barklage, but it looked like Roy Miller was out there.
- The Red Bulls horror show in Chicago continues. They still haven't won in Toyota Park since it opened...
Notable Quotes
Mike Petke, via Pro Soccer Talk...
I'm very disappointed. We're going to lose games, that's inevitable. But how we lost that game ... it was sloppy. The quality that we have, the experience that we have ... if I'm with a team in a rebuilding stage, with players who are rookies in the league, how mad could I be? But I'm with guys who are capable of so much more.
Relevant Stats
| Fire | Statistic | Red Bulls |
| 13 | Attempts on Goal | 10 |
| 1 | Corners | 4 |
| 7 | Fouls | 10 |
| 14 | Crosses | 17 |
| 73% | Passing Accuracy | 74% |
| 47.8% | Possession | 52.2% |