Kaku’s Penalty Edges the Galaxy

Ever since the arrival of David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy back in 2007 there have been strange and crazy matches against these two original MLS sides. We can’t forget the nine goal match back at Giants Stadium that had big names like Angel, Donovan & Altidore.

Tonight’s match up against the Los Angeles Galaxy didn’t disappoint as the Red Bulls earned a gift from referee Allan Chapman as Kaku converted a penalty for a huge road win on the West Coast as the Red Bulls defeats the LA Galaxy three goals to two.

The match was all leveled at two a piece until the Red Bulls got one of the most luckiest calls that went in favor for them. Dave Romney was chasing after Kemar Lawrence along the near side of the field in the 83rd minute.

When Lawrence tried to cross the ball it looked like it didn’t touch anyone, but Chapman blew his whistle and while it was thought that it was a foul or offside on the Red Bulls, it was a compete surprise that he pointed to the spot and gave the Red Bulls that big chance to re-take the lead.

Alejandro Romero Gamarra was the designated penalty taker as Daniel Royer was subbed out of the match and in the 84th minute, Kaku stepped up to the spot and drilled it inside the front post to get the lead back and the eventual match winner.

But the Red Bulls started strong in the opening ten minutes by getting on the score sheet first. Kaku sent a looping ball towards Bradley Wright-Phillips attacking down the near side and when he collected the ball along the near side of the area, a solid cross found a trailing Daniel Royer who converted past David Bingham for the early lead.

The Red Bulls made it two just after the whistle blew to restart the second half, but it all started when Jesse Marsch made a substitution before the whistle blew as he put in Florian Valot for Aurelien Collin.

Kaku once again sprung the play as he led BWP into an attacking run. trailing the play was Valot and when BWP made another brilliant pass towards the center of the park, Valot roofs it top shelf for the 2nd goal of the match and his second of the season in the 49th minute.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic shows why he is one of the best players in the game as he assisted twice to give Ola Kamara a great ball for him to convert in the 59th minute and then he led the charge on the second goal by taking the corner along the far side that deflected off of David Romney and then smacked home by Giovanni Dos Santos.

This match could’ve had more goals from either side as Bingham made some spectacular saves in the first half, but the Galaxy had two goals wiped out on officiating calls. We all know why VAR (Video Assistant Ref) has been hugely criticized for taking away legit goals or allowing illegal ones.

But on this night it was spot on as the Roman Alessandrini who looked to have equalized the match a few minutes after Royer scored, VAR contacted Allan Chapman to inform him that the play originated in an offside position.

When the original pass was made by Alessandrini it was Giovanni Dos Santos who collected the ball and as soon as he turned around to create a run for a teammate, Ola Kamara was already two yards offside.

Then natural selection came to the Galaxy as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in an offside position as he tried to make it 3-2 for the home side but was wiped out by the near side assistant. Just enough of an left arm & shoulder going just ahead of the ball being played in the 78th minute.

So after this crazy filled night at the Stub Hub Center I wonder what head coach Jesse Marsch was thinking after the final whistle was blown. “It was good. I think to get the two zero lead was really good, then we had to take some pressure and you have to expect the home team was going to throw a lot at you.” said Marsch.

“I thought we could’ve managed mistakes in there a little bit and even when they were throwing things at us to manage the moment a little bit better, but the best part of the night when it was at 2-2 we played our best.

We didn’t waiver, we went after the game with a young team that showed that character and that maturity, it says a lot about our group. I’m proud of their response and I’m happy we got the three points.”

What no one knew at the time was that they had a huge fan that flew across the country to watch the Red Bulls take on the Galaxy, that was New York Knicks forward Enes Kanter who was in the stands cheering the Red Bulls to victory.

But now that this match is over the Red Bulls have one thing to think about and that is the Hudson River Rivalry which will be at Red Bull Arena this coming Saturday with an early start time of 2PM. David Villa and NYCFC will be coming over the Hudson River for another show down to see what color will New York City be.