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DC United Destroy Indefensible Red Bulls 4-1
By
Dan Dickinson
Published Apr 23, 2012
Modified Apr 23, 2012
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By
Dan Dickinson
Published Apr 23, 2012
Modified Apr 23, 2012
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The up and down season for the New York Red Bulls continues. Rather than the offensive juggernaut that ran rampant, New York suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat at the hands of bitter rivals DC United, with striker Chris Pontius (not that Chris Pontius) abusing NY's makeshift defense to complete a hat trick.
New York entered the game shorthanded and had their depth tested. Wilman Conde, Roy Miller, and Teemu Tainio remain on the injured list, while Rafa Marquez began serving his three match suspension. Rookie Connor Lade saw his first start at left back, while Victor Palsson took Marquez's CDM spot.
The first half was easily one of the worst New York performances in the last year. United dominated play early, and NY would struggle to get into the game until 25 minutes in. But New York would find themselves chasing a result from the 9th minute, when Chris Pontius picked Thierry Henry's pocket. The 24 year old dribbled forward, shook off Markus Holgersson, and nailed an unstoppable shot from 25 yards out.
Even when NY finally started stringing together some offense, the league-leading strike force couldn't click: Thierry Henry seemed a step off, and Kenny Cooper repeatedly chose to lay off the ball rather than shoot. Any momentum being built towards leveling the score was let off when Maicon Santos and Chris Pontius combined for a second goal at the expense of RBNY's entire back line. Santos dribbled up the end-line past Solli, Keel, and Holgersson, slicing a cross that Connor Lade could only stop short in front of the goal. Pontius pounced and blasted it from two yards out, bringing the lead to 2-0.
Just four minutes later, New York went deeper into the hole, as Victor Palsson slipped and fell, gifting the ball to DC just outside the box. Dwayne De Rosario laid the ball off to Nick DeLeon, who fired a shot while most of the defense was ball watching. The shot took a slight deflection off Holgersson and went in, putting the home side up by three goals going into halftime.
The second half saw coach Backe make two substitutions, with Joel Lindpere taking his left wing spot back from Mehdi Ballouchy, and Tyler Ruthven getting his debut in place of Stephen Keel. The second half was a better performance, with Henry and Cooper shooting more freely in the attempt of finding a goal to put the back into the game. But even with NY knocking once more, Chris Pontius would get his hat trick in the 69th minute on yet another solo effort. Dribbling from about 30 yards out, he again beat Holgersson, kept in front of a charging Palsson, and as Lade and Solli looked on, easily put the ball past Meara. It was the third hat trick RBNY has given up since the start of 2011.
New York would break their duck in the 72nd minute, as Thierry Henry coolly converted a curving free kick past Joe Willis. But Henry seemed resigned to a loss, neither celebrating nor rushing to pick the ball out of the back of the net. After some final attacks from NY and some signs of defense on DC's remaining chances, referee Mark Geiger blew to end the game at 4-1.
The result is the worst defeat for the Red Bulls at the hands of DC in nearly four years. Now 3-3-1, RBNY sit in 3rd place in the East and 8th place overall. Revenge will have to wait until June 24th at Red Bull Arena for the next battle between these two teams. For now, Hans Backe and his squad will have to focus on another Eastern Conference clash this coming Saturday.
Be sure to also read Pablo Maurer's endless gloating in his match report over on DCist.
Next Match: Sat April 28th, 3:30 PM, Home vs New England. (TV: NBC Sports)
Tagged
atlantic cup
chris pontius
dc united
mls
new york red bulls
rbny
red bulls
soccer
Dan Dickinson
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