The New York Red Bulls came into their game against the re-expansion San Jose Earthquakes needing a win. With a 1-1-1 record, they were at five points, several behind the Eastern Conference leaders.
The game begun as a defensive tussle, with not many shots on goal, even though the Bulls had several corner kicks. As a live viewer, it was a game that seemed uneventful heading into the half.
As the second half went on, it seemed that San Jose sat back as New York raised their ante and outplayed them. However, it was not until the 79th minute that the scoreboard shook a zero off of it.
A cross into the box from New York's John Wolyniec hit 18-year old sensation Jozy Altidore, and he was taken down by San Jose defender Ryan Cochrane. This resulted in a penalty kick taken by Mike Magee. Magee riped the kick to the upper-left side and beat Earthquake keeper Joe Cannon over the right shoulder. Cannon had a good game, but did not have an answer for Magee from the penalty dot. It was the first goal for Magee since July 22, 2006, when he scored the game winner against Kansas City at the Meadowlands.
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That 1-0 lead was held until extra time of the second half, when Jozy Altidore tallied another one for the Red Bulls after receiving a superb pass from John Wolyniec, who had an extremely impressive game all-around, along with everyone else on the field for New York. The 2-0 win was able to happen thanks to the wonderful defense of Seth Stammler and Chris Leitch. Captain Claudio Reyna played a good and spirited first half. A solid game from Luke Sassano also deserves noting.
The most intriguing part of this victory is that the Red Bulls managed to do it without their leading scorer from last year, Juan Pablo Angel. Angel has been suffering from a nerve-related lower-back injury. We see many times that teams do not come out with a big effort when missing their top player.
Not the case on this night under the lights, as the New York Red Bulls came out with a supreme effort from keeper Jon Conway to striker Jozy Altidore. With an impressive display under early season pressure, the Red Bulls answer the call for three points, and the second win for Head Coach Juan Carlos Osorio.
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8 months ago
Good article! Descriptive and to the point. Keep up the great work!
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