Good afternoon! It's another glorious day in RBNY Land. Alas, our glorious team is in the not so glorious State of Ohio to take on the Columbus Crew (3:00pm, MSG, Univision Deportes, match notes here). Both the Red Bulls and Crew are sporting 2 game win streaks and the Crew will be desperate to take all three points from this home fixture. With that said, let's see how both teams come into this one.
The Red Bulls, who posted an impressive 5-2 win over the hapless Montreal Impact last weekend, will be looking for their first road victory of this young season. They'll also have their work cut out for them. RBNY roster depth will be tested today, as deefensive stalwarts Wilman Conde and Teemu Tainio will both miss this one due to their respective injuries.
Can the Red Bulls finally overcome their road woes today? Will they by able to unlock the stingy Crew defense? Will Dane Richards and Joel Lindpere finally bounce back and look like their old selves? Will Holgersson and/or Meara have another shocker? Will the "Moroccan Maradona" treat us to another sublime moment, or two? Will Rafa Marquez play at "Rafa Marquez Level" today? We shall soon find out.
The Columbus crew come into this one on a high from having defeated the hapless Toronto FC 1-0, at BMO Field. They'll be looking to stop keep the top forward tandem in MLS from getting on the scoreboard. They claim they're ready, but can anyone stop the Henry/Cooper Juggernaut? But enought of that, let's get to some predictions!
I felt pretty confident about this game on Saturday after we demolished Montreal with a 3 goal second half. But injuries have now reared their ugly head and it's hard to see the Red Bulls carrying that second half form over to Columbus. I like us to score, but a potential center back pairing of Keel and Holgersson doesn't inspire a ton of confidence. 2-2 draw, with goals from Henry and Lindpere not enough to balance out some poor defending.
With Wolfman Conde, not to mention Tainio, out of the lineup today, I can't say that I feel too confident in our chance of keeping Columbus off the scoreboard. That said, I'm feeling that both TH14 and KFC will get one each for RBNY. I'm calling for a 2-1 RBNY victory today.
Tough to see us getting all 3 points today, with Tainio and Conde on the bench. I'm afraid this will be a letdown today, and we'll have to wait a couple more weeks for our first points on the road. Expect a lot of laser-stares, dropped jaws, and head-shaking from Thierry Henry today. A frustrating 2-1 RBNY loss. Henry does all the work to create our goal, but unselfishly dishes it off to Dax McCarty.
A letdown away game after a big home win is a classic Red Bull move and I have to think that the injury explosion is only going to make things worse. I expect a disorganized squad and a porous backline that will be chasing Crew players all night, ending up in a 2-1 loss for RBNY. Henry's on such a hot streak I think he'll find a goal somewhere, but it will be too little, too late. Also, I want to stress that it would be terrible if Renteria gets his front teeth knocked out by a misplaced Marquez elbow.
What a week. We destroy Montreal. Then I went down to Florida and bought a beach house that should be the home of the Viper's Nest Winter Meetings! Then on my way back I run into the great Mike Petke on the AirTrain at EWR. He is a class act. I did indicate to him that I was livid after the first half last week and that we played like crap. But what a nice guy. Anyway I am for some reason optimistic. I am calling for a 3-0 win. Henry with another two as he chases Roy Lassiter.
Wow! That's all for now. Let's hope for the best and I'll see you all @The Cathedral of Football, Red Bull Arena (built by Makita) next weekend. Viper Out!