3 Thoughts: RBNY blow chances, get no help from ref

Bradley Wright-Phillip's Yellow Card

In the 60th minute, Wright-Phillips was shown a yellow card for what is listed as Encroachment on the MLS Site. The yellow card means that Wright-Phillips is suspended for leg 2, unless the Disciplinary Committee decides to change it. The call was because Wright-Phillips stuck his leg in to deflect a ball that Bobby Shuttleworth was rolling out to his right. Except that the ball was already out of his hand, and Wright-Phillips didn't stop the distribution. It seems that the call was a bad one (and not the first) by Allen Chapman. The difference for this one is that he adversely affected leg 2 of the series because now the leading goal scorer in MLS will not be around.

@BloodyUdall It's an offence for a player to prevent the GK from releasing the ball from his hands. Doesn't specify distance.

— Ben Jata (@Ben_Jata) November 23, 2014

Bad Match by the Referees

New York Red Bulls 6 - 4 New England Revolution. That was the final count on yellow cards in this match. A lot of the cards didn't make sense, and that follows along with Chapman and his Assistant's not being consistent (or logical at times) in this match. By my count, there was 2 clear Penalty Kicks for the Red Bulls that were missed, a yellow to Jones that should have been a red (more below), and an offside call that led to the deciding goal of the match and maybe the series. On the goal, replays show that Jermaine Jones was ahead of the ball before it was played to him from Teal Bunbury. That goal gives the Revolution 2 road goals, making it a steeper climb for the Red Bulls.

Jermaine Jones

Jones was given a yellow card in the 26th minute for a tough foul. How tough was it exactly? He left his feet, lunged at Dax McCarty, and used a scissoring motion to bring McCarty down. That's a viciously tough tackle that deserved a straight red, not a yellow. The Revolution were lucky to have 11 men on the field at that point. It's especially tough to swallow as Jones was the one that scored the Revs' second goal.

Bonus Thought: Is the series now over?

The Red Bulls have an extremely tough hill to climb now. They are already without their starting left back, Roy Miller, for the red he got against D.C. United in the previous round. They are now missing the leading scorer in MLS due to Allen Chapman. Henry and Olave have a history of not playing on turf, and will undoubtedly have to play now. Could this have been avoided? Absolutely, the Red Bulls could have very easily put 4-5 goals on the board. Having to go to New England though, and basically making up a 2 goal deficit due to away goals? It hard to see this team coming back.