Portland v New York – Red Bulls Salvage a Point on the Road

New York’s Strategy
     With Luke Rodgers unable to pass a fitness test and Juan Agudelo representing the US at the Gold Cup, Hans Backe was forced to put Dwayne De Rosario as a lone striker. Thierry Henry operated as the playmaker in the 4-4-1-1 formation. Henry was willing to drop deep into midfield to collect the ball. He also made two brilliant runs from this deep lying position, one allowing him to score the second New York goal.

Portland’s Strategy

     John Spencer set up his side in a traditional 4-4-2. Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza were the two strikers, supported by Kalif Alhassan and Darlington Nagbe on the flanks. Diego Chara and Jack Jewsbury operated as the central midfielders, with Jewsbury pushing higher up the pitch than the more defensive minded Chara.

Early Goal
     New York struck quickly with a 5th min goal from Austin Da Luz. The assist was provided by Dwayne De Rosario who was sprung down the left side by a first tine through ball from Henry. Center back Eric Brunner lost track of De Rosario who made a wide run into space. Da Luz finished calmly after a nice left foot touch to get past Chara.

First Half: Portland Control but Create no Chances
     Portland dominated possession for the rest of the first half with New York content on sitting back and getting to the locker room with the one goal lead. The Timbers were unable to craft any chances even though they dominated the ball.

Timber’s strike quickly out of halftime

     Down a goal, Portland was forced to make a change at the back at the intermission. David Horst went off injured late in the first half. As a result, John Spencer brought on Goldthwaite in a like for like replacement.

     Portland started the second half on fire. The Timbers had a 2-1 lead by the 50^th minute. The equalizing goal came in the 47^th minute from a Rodney Wallace throw in into the Red Bull’s box. The ball was headed out directly to ‘Captain’ Jack Jewsbury who buried a low right footed shot into the left corner. Two minutes later, Jewsbury swung in a free kick to the back post from the left side. The ball was headed back in front of goal by Brunner where it was back heeled in by Goldthwaite. It was a brilliant goal, especially for a defender, reminiscent of Chicharito’s winner for Mexico in their Gold Cup quarterfinal on Saturday.

     Timber Joey and the Timbers Army were going absolutely mental after the early second half surge. Portland nearly added a third, but Teemu Tainio made a bicycle clearance off the goal line to preserve the one goal deficit for New York. Portland added a third goal in the 67^th minute. Jorge Perlaza made a run past Stephen Keel down the right channel and did well to control the long ball. He sent in a low hard cross which Keel slid to clear, but ended up putting it into the back of his own net.

Red Bull’s Rally

     With the home crowd, the momentum, and a two goal lead, the Timbers seemed to be cruising for three points. However, the Red Bulls put fear into the home crowd’s hearts by pulling a goal back. Henry received the ball deep in midfield and squared his pass to Lindpere. Henry made a forward run and got the ball back. He then played a one-two with DaLuz, with his forward run freeing him up with space in the left channel. His strike beat Perkins who had come out to intercept the Da Luz pass.

     Still a goal ahead, Portland had a golden opportunity to finish the game off for good in the 76th minute. New York gave the ball away in midfield. Keel was out of position in his left center back spot and Perlaza glided by him and latched on to a through ball. Perlaza was free to the right of goal with only Sutton to beat. Instead of squaring the ball to Cooper at the top of the 18 (for a simple finish) he got selfish and tried to round Sutton to the right. Sutton’s challenge was late and he took down Perlaza with the referee pointing to the spot. Jewsbury stepped up to seal the match but his low penalty attempt struck the right post, leaving the door open for the visitors.

     Into stoppage time, the Red Bulls were scrambling for an equalizer, even bringing on John Rooney in a hopeful attempt to drum up some of his brother’s skill. Further complicating the comeback, Henry was sent off for an altercation with Adam Moffat (more on this later). Finally, in the 95^th minute, a poor clearance from Goldthwaite gave DeRosario the ball in space on the right side. He sent in a cross which Rodney Wallace inexplicably reached out his right arm and batted it down. DeRosario then stepped up and buried the penalty.

Jewsbury brilliant set pieces

     Ricardo Salazar whistled 25 fouls against the Red Bulls. This high number heightened the influence of set pieces in the Timber’s attacks. Jack Jewsbury took all of the set pieces and swung in dangerous balls all night. The only other means of attack came from Perlaza testing Keel’s positioning and getting service in space down the right channel. Kenny Cooper and the wide players added little to the Timber’s attack.  

Henry’s Red Card and Soler’s Reaction

     Red Bulls GM and Sporting Director Erik Soler had reasons to gripe after the poorly officiated contest by Ricardo Salazar. New York was whistled for 20 more fouls than Portland. Also, replays indicated that Thierry Henry did not display violent towards Moffat.

     Many media members will criticize Soler’s letter but I think the MLS needs to take the legitimate gripes made by clubs to heart over referee performances and need to upgrade the standard of refereeing. Instead, Garber will probably slap Soler with a fine and paper over the cracks. Also, the league should rescind the Henry red card so he will be eligible for Thursday matchup v Seattle.

Conclusion

     One interesting factor to the game was the size of the pitch at Jeld-Wen field. The pitch is very narrow which prevented the Portland wingers from running at players in space.

     With that said Portland dominated possession throughout the match and deserved all three points. New York will be ecstatic with the road point.