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The New York Red Bulls came into today's game looking to put themselves in the lead for the Supporters' Shield race with a win against the Columbus Crew. Early on, the Ohio club put a dent in those hopes when Justin Meram scored in just under ten minutes. Thanks to some fortuitous bounces, Meram's scuffed shot deflected off of Damien Perrinelle and Luis Robles before finally finding the back of the net.
From then on, it was all Red Bulls. The hosts managed to equalize almost immediately, as Sacha Kljestan collected a loose ball at the top of the box and squared a pass to a wide open Lloyd Sam. The Englishman rifled his shot into the upper corner past a helpless Steve Clark. The Red Bulls would find the go-ahead goal just 9 minutes later, thanks to a header from Bradley Wright-Phillips.
The Red Bulls could have easily made it 3-1 on several occasions, as they chose to counter attack through substitute Gonzalo Veron during the second half. Columbus failed to apply any consistent pressure for the rest of the game, managing to create only a few chances, but New York was able to hold on for the win.
3 Thoughts
The High Press
Jesse Marsch's high pressure system really paid dividends today. Both of the goals were created off of Columbus giving the ball away in their own half. Mike Grella played a huge role in this, as he actually forced both of the giveaways too. I don't know what Dennis Hamlett told him before the game, but whatever it was, it worked.
Center Backs
Damien Perrinelle picked up his 11th yellow card of the season today, tying the club record for most yellow cards in a season. This means he's also going to be suspended, which means that the Red Bulls will be without him and Matt Miazga. Karl Ouimette should be the natural candidate to step in alongside Ronald Zubar. While this isn't a center back partnership we've seen so far this year, Zubar had a solid game today and looked dominant in the air.
Luis Robles
Robles comes up huge for @NewYorkRedBulls Higuain denied! #NYvCLB
— Peter Nolan (@Nolan1Peter) October 4, 2015
How many times do we have to say this? Game after game, Robles always comes up big. Let's just enjoy the fact that our goalie is one of the best in the league.