Red Bulls fail to launch in Houston, on 3 game losing streak

The New York Red Bulls entered today tied on points with their former Eastern Conference rivals, the Houston Dynamo, and the way this played out, you would think it was a rehash of their playoff matches. The Red Bulls script played out going into halftime with a 1-0 lead, then everything broke apart. 4 goals for Houston in the second half while playing the Red Bulls out of the park. A yellow card for Mike Grella for taking a cleat to the ankle in the box, and a consolation goal just added to the despair.

3 Thoughts

Taking a Lead

For the second week in a row, the Red Bulls had a lead and failed to hold on. They were 4-0-0 before the Seattle match when scoring first. Again, so much for that.

Referee

2 weeks. 2 Penalty Kicks the Red Bulls should've gotten. 2 times a referee changed the outcome of the game by not calling what should've been called. Here's a screenshot of the foul on Grella.

It's pretty clear that Tyler Deric took him down. However, Mike Grella got a yellow for diving, and Deric got away with a tackle that could've broken Grella's leg/ankle/foot.

Conditioning

Playing a high pressure system requires your players to be well conditioned so they can sustain their energy in a 90 minute match. It's seems that the Red Bulls staff isn't doing a good enough job of maintaining player stamina. The 6 goals conceded in the last two games are clearly from defensive lapses, and most likely from a lack of energy. The team has two weeks off before their next MLS match. Let's hope the players actually get some rest.