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The Red Bulls managed to end their losing streak and end Toronto FC's six-game winning streak, but just couldn't find a way to end their continued late-game struggles as they settled for a 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena on Friday night.
A first-half goal by Bradley Wright-Phillips was nullified in the final 20 minutes by Benoit Cheyrou, but a save on a PK by Luis Robles, followed by a disallowed goal and a shot off the crossbar allowed the Red Bulls to preserve the tie and get their point in the month of May.
Here are the RBNY player ratings vs Toronto:
Luis Robles - 8 (Man of the Match)
His lone mistake was a deeply costly one, but two magnificent saves in the final minutes earned him redemption and could earn him Save of the Week honors if he's lucky. Speaking of luck though... that disallowed goal gets ruled a goal 9 times out of 10. Just saying.
Kemar Lawrence - 8
Aaron Long - 6
Damien Perrinelle - 5
Michael Murillo - 5
It's a shame. The first 60 or so minutes made Murillo look like a definitive winner of the right-back competition. But his late-game shenanigans cost the team the lead and earned him a booking to boot.
Sacha Kljestan - 5
At this point its becoming apparent that Kljestan's decision making might be just as much a culprit for his poor form as his aging body.
Felipe - 6
If shaving your head before a game keeps the team out of the L column then keep it up Felipe!
Fredrik Gulbrandsen - 6
Hopefully his injury isn't serious. Gulbrandsen seemed to really be putting in some good work before he got hurt.
Mike Grella - 6
Grella did alright in his first start of the season, but if he's going to be the alternate number 10 he needs to be 100% healthy, not on a minute-count.
Alex Muyl - 6
Bradley Wright-Phillips - 7
It's becoming increasingly rare to see BWP score in the final 20-30 minutes of a game. Perhaps Marsch needs to consider keeping the RBNY goal king on a minutes count to keep him fresh...
Subs:
Sean Davis - 4
It's getting to the point where Red Bulls fans almost hope the USMNT U-20 MNT bows out of the World Cup early just so they can get AmeriKante back sooner. Davis just can't seem to take control of the ball well enough
Daniel Royer - 4
Gonzalo Veron - 4
Came close to some late-game heroics with a shot on goal, but as usual he simply couldn't finish it up.
*
The final game of the Red Bulls' three-game home stand comes next Saturday against New England Revolution. But if the Red Bulls' recent struggles against teams below the red line is any indication, it could just as easily be a 4-0 loss as a 2-0 win.
But for now, the team gets to enjoy at least one more week above the red line and gets an extra day's rest to figure out what the heck their identity is.