Week 8: Columbus Crew 1-1 New York Red Bulls

The Red Bulls went into Columbus on the heel of back to back wins, but on short rest, with only 2 full days between games. On top of that, Mike Petke decided to run out the same starting XI as against Houston. Given this, one wouldn't be surprised if the Red Bulls had failed to come away with a point. While the team put in a good road effort to earn a point, they should've gotten all three.

They managed to get off to a quick start, something that they haven't done much of this year. In the second minute, Eric Alexander sprinted past a Columbus defense that was too focused on Thierry Henry. Alexander was one-on-one with Columbus keeper Steve Clark, but got stonewalled. That was followed up a few minutes later by Henry taking a shot from just outside the box, but having it graze the top of the crossbar. Bradley Wright-Phillips followed that up with a run of his own in the 10th minute after a defensive miscue, but Clark was able to keep him out wide.

After the Red Bulls initial onslaught in the first fifteen minutes, the teams started to trade blows, with both keepers making saves to keep each team in the game. No one was able to convert their chances, and so it went until the 38th minute when the Red Bulls conceded their 5th penalty kick of the season. This time around, it was Kosuke Kimura who was the guilty party after dragging down Columbus' Justin Meram. Then, Jairo Arrieta stepped up and placed a shot high and to Luis Robles' right. Robles had guessed correctly, but didn't jump high enough to get his hand on the shot, and it was 1-0 Columbus.

The rest of the half was more of the same with each team trading shots. Minutes before halftime ended, it looked as if Wright-Phillips had been fouled near the New York bench, but there was no call from referee Geoff Gamble. Wright-Phillips got up and then made a horrible decision by going in tough on Federico Higuain, which resulted in a yellow card. While replays show that he got the ball on his challenge, the foul and card were most likely because of how he went in, with his back leg coming into the back of Higuain's legs after the ball is away. The decision incensed Petke, not because of what Wright-Phillips did, but because if the earlier foul had been called, then the second would never have happened. He said as much during his halftime interview with MSG (credit to Dan Covello for capturing it).

The Red Bulls came out looking tired in the second half, which wasn't shocking given the short rest. It didn't take long for the legs to come back though, with a few quick threats by the visitors coming just after the 50th minute. However, the Red Bulls then reverted back to their early season form. For about 5-10 minutes, the Red Bulls controlled possession, but seemed content to pass the ball between the midfield and defense without pressing the issue. In the 66th minute, the Red Bulls struck for what would be the game tying goal. Lloyd Sam crossed the ball into the box. It got to Wright-Phillips, who had his back turned towards goal. He flicked it up with his right foot, putting it back across his body, where he turned and hit it off the bounce to tie the game.

The rest of the game was more of the team trading shots, but no one came close. The highlight of the last twenty minutes was Dominic Oduro coming into the game with a new hair style. Oduro is know for different hair designs, and it was no different when the sides of his head were made to look like slices of pizza. It was a disappointing end to the game, because a stupid giveaway of a penalty kick cost the Red Bulls two points, but, 4 points in 4 days? Not a bad deal at all for an aging team.