New York Red Bulls Regain Playoff Spot with 2-0 Win Over The Portland Timbers

Harrison, NJ—In danger of missing the postseason, the New York Red Bulls (8-7-15) played their best match as of late as they defeated the Portland Timbers (10-13-7) 2-0 at Red Bull Arena. 

After being humiliated 3-1 at home against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night and having to address Rafa Marquez comments against his teammates by suspending him, the Red Bulls responded to their critics with an empathetic win. In defeating Portland, the Red Bulls regained the final playoff spot. 

With four matches remaining, the Red Bulls are in position to either win the Eastern Conference or face elimination from the playoffs. On Saturday night, the Red Bulls had a 14-9 shot advantage over the Timbers. In addition, the Red Bulls took eight shots on goals compared to Portland's two and had a 12-3 corner kicks advantage. 

Opening the scoring register for the Red Bulls was none other than Dane Richards. In the 21st minute of the match, he attacked the net as he pushed forward towards the endline. Successfully getting past Portland's Diego Chara, Richards blasted his shot from an angle past Timbers GK Troy Perkins. 

After a dominant first half against the tough Timbers team, the Red Bulls found themselves in danger when Portland almost leveled the match in the 56 minute. Timbers Darlington Nagbe successfully past the Red Bulls defenders as he sprinted diagonally and past the ball to Kalif Alhassan whose shot beat Red Bulls GK Frank Rost only for the ball to hit the crossbar. Seconds later Timbers forward Kenny Cooper volleyed the rebound where it hit the post. 

With the Red Bulls able to clear the ball, they literally dodged two bullets within seconds. Minutes later, the Red Bulls received a penalty kick when Timbers Kalif Alhassan was called for a handball. As a result, Alhassan received a red card for denying the Red Bulls a scoring opportunity. 

Moments later, Luke Rodgers scored his eighth goal of the season when he successfully converted the penalty kick to give the Red Bulls a 2-0 lead in the 66 minute. For the remainder of match, the Red Bulls defense was able to thwart the Timbers from producing two goals late in the match. 

Despite the loss, the Portland Timbers fought the Red Bulls tooth and nail. Their goalkeeper Troy Perkins was able to make six out of eight successful saves. With their season coming to close, they're still in position to reach the postseason. Just like the Red Bulls, they have to win their remaining matches in order to have a legitimate shot. 

The Red Bulls travel to Toronto where they will face Toronto FC at the BMO Field on Saturday, Oct. 1 and the team returns back to Red Bull Arena on Oct. 4 where they will face the best team in MLS, the Los Angeles Galaxy. 

With four matches remaining, every point the Red Bulls earn will be critical. 

Other MLS Results from Saturday 

Houston Dynamo (10-9-12) won 1-0 over FC Dallas (13-10-7).

Los Angeles Galaxy (17-3-10) won 1-0 over the Columbus Crew (11-11-8).

D.C. United (9-8-11) won 4-1 over Real Salt Lake (15-8-6). 

Colorado Rapids (10-9-12) battled the San Jose Earthquakes (6-11-13) to a 1-1 draw. 

Chivas USA (8-12-11) won 3-0 over Toronto FC (6-13-12). 

Seattle Sounders (15-6-9) won 3-1 over the Vancouver Whitecaps FC (4-15-10). 

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press  & USSoccerPlayers.com; your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at [e-mail] and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.