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| Drawing the Dynamo |
| Red Bulls Soccer |
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The first half was a ridiculously eventfully one. Sadly the person that stood out most on the field was the referee, who called two penalties against New York and issued a red card to Houston all within the first 45. The match was wide open from its first few minutes, with Adrian Serioux shanking a wide open rebound over Metro’s net in the 9th minute. Just one minute later, Juan Pablo Angel would open the scoring, breaking a tackle from a Houston defender after receiving a cross from new strike partner Henry and blasting the shot home. New York’s lead was short lived, as Houston was awarded a penalty in the 24th minute for a Carlos Mendes foul on Joseph Ngwenya. Brad Davis converted the spot kick, tying the game at 1. The end to end action continued even with the game drawn, and in the 30th minute Metro had a flurry of chances that just couldn’t be converted. Mac Kandji started the sequence with an excellent cross to Henry, but his shot was saved by Tally Hall. Angel sent the rebound back to Henry, but the French striker missed the second chance, sending his ball wide of an open net. In the 39th minute another penalty was awarded to the Dynamo, this time for a Tim Ream tackle on Brian Ching. Luckily for Metro, Davis blasted the penalty kick over the net. Henry would again miss an excellent chance in the 42nd minute, shooting wide of the net on a clear breakaway. The first half ended with Lovel Palmer receiving a totally unwarranted red card for a tackle on Mendes, leaving New York up a man for the second half. Metro’s man advantage paid dividends throughout the second half, allowing them the time and space to dictate the game and move the ball as they pleased. Still, the game was more settled than it had been in the Wild West style first half, seeing chances limited slightly. When Metro did create a solid chance in the 58th minute, the finishing problems of the first period didn’t plague its players. As with the first goal, Angel finished a chance created by Thierry Henry, blasting a high shot over keeper Tally Hall and giving New York a 2-1 lead. After Angel’s second goal, New York held back, content to largely possess the ball without pushing forward too much. This would prove to be a fatal mistake, as they ended up giving up a soft goal in the 89th minute. Brian Mullan headed home an Andrew Hainault cross, easily beating Carlos Mendes in the process and tying up the game. New York was burned late, punishment for not using any substitutions to bring on fresh legs against a 10 man team during the second half and failing to push for an insurance goal. Even though the match feels like a loss, it was still a draw on the road against a solid opponent. Theirry Henry may have missed some easy chances, but he made a promising debut and looks like he will work extremely well with Angel. He also played the entire match, which was highly unexpected due to questions about his fitness. Still, these are the types of games Metro will need to learn to kill off if they want to seriously contend for the MLS cup this season. Lineups: New York- Bouna Coundoul, Roy Miller, Tim Ream, Carlos Mendes, Chris Albright, Seth Stammler (45 Dane Richards), Joel Lindpere, Tony Tchani (94 Carl Robinson), Macoumba Kandji, Thierry Henry, Juan Pablo Angel Houston- Tally Hall, Andrew Hainault, Eddie Robinson, Adrian Serioux (68 Cory Ashe), Mike Chabala, Danny Cruz, Lovel Palmer, Anthony Obodai (59 Richard Mulrooney), Brad Davis, Brian Ching, Joseph Ngwenya (77 Brian Mullan) Disciplinary Summary: 44: Red Card issued to Lovel Palmer (Houston Dynamo) 59: Yellow Card issued to Joel Lindpere (NYRB) 71: Yellow Card issued to Dane Richards (NYRB) 86: Yellow Card issued to Roy Miller (NYRB) Scoring Summary: 10: Juan Pablo Angel (NYRB 1: Houston 0) 24: Brad Davis (NYRB 1: Houston 1) 58: Juan Pablo Angel (NYRB 2: Houston 1) 89: Brian Mullan (NYRB 2: Houston 2) Attendance: 24,750 Images by DailyHarrison.com | You're free to use,
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