The Red Bulls went into Saturday night’s game against the Crew looking to keep Kei Kamara, the league’s leading goal scorer, from adding to his total, and Ethan Finlay, the league’s top assist man, from doing his thing.
And that’s just what they accomplished. Unfortunately for the Red Bulls, the two talented players switched roles, with Kamara assisting on both of Finlay’s goals in a 2-1 victory before a crowd of 14,429 at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
But the frustration of the game for the Red Bulls went much further than that. Two possible hand ball violations in the box by the Crew were not called, and it seemed like every key throw-in call and calls that went for goal kicks rather than corner kicks did not go their way, which led to mounting frustration throughout the game.
Finally, the frustration boiled over in second-half stoppage time with a yellow card to Red Bulls midfielder Felipe and coach Jesse Marsch leaving the field. It was unclear if Marsch walked off on his own or was asked to leave by the fourth official. According to the official statistics, Marsch was not ejected from the match, but if there was interjection by an official, there is a possibility of league action when Major League Soccer officials revue the referee’s report.
“We’re obviously disappointed because we started the game so well,” midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. “In the end, we just didn’t have enough confidence to put together a second play to get us a second goal, and obviously the goals just came from a couple of breakdowns that we can learn from and we can do better.”
The Red Bulls fielded a lineup without captain Dax McCarty, who didn’t make the trip after playing 90 minutes in seven straight games in a span of 32 days. Midfielder Lloyd Sam also started on the bench but entered in the 55th minute for Sean Davis.
With the adjustments, the Red Bulls started well. In the eighth minute, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Anatole Abang worked a give-and-go, with Abang taking the return pass and streaking for the net. Abang, who turns 19 today, fought off Crew defender Emanuel Pogatetz and threaded a low shot inside the far post for his third goal of the season.
“Abang has been a big threat and has been a big, physical presence for us,” Marsch said. “So it was a very good goal and it was a way we knew we could punish them by making their defenders turn and have to run and deal with our athleticism and our pace. We just weren't able to get in more of those plays going, but again, this one for me, the guys dug in deep and emptied the tanks, and we've got to keep our heads up and keep going.”
The Crew tied the match in the 33rd minute on the first of two goals by Finlay that started with outlet passes from goalkeeper Steve Clark. On this one, Clark booted a long ball to a surprisingly wide open Kamara, who had his back to the net. Kamara back-headed the ball into the path of Finlay in the right side of the box. Finlay cut left on Red Bulls defender Damien Perrinelle and curved a left-footed shot into the upper far corner for just his fourth goal of the season.
“They altered their game plan a little bit and decided to play direct to Kei Kamara,” Marsch said. “It caused us trouble in the first half, which led to their first goal. We made adjustments at half. Because we had some tired legs, we were a little bit late on shifting and moving and covering spaces, and also they're a good team.
“(Federico) Higuain's floating around, he's making good plays. They have fresher legs, and on the day they're able to get a grasp of the game more than we are. But great effort from our guys. They dug in deep, they gave everything they had.”
Though the Red Bulls prevented Kamara from adding to his league-high 12 goals, he did have his chances. In the 50th minute, Kamara’s header off a Justin Meram cross went wide of the right post. Twenty minutes later, Kamara was open in the left side of the box but was denied by Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles, who turned the shot wide for a corner kick. And in the 83rd minute, Kamara was again open on the left, only to be denied again by Robles, who finished with four saves.
The Red Bulls also missed a couple of excellent scoring opportunities. Wright-Phillips shot just over the bar from the right in the 68th minute and was robbed on a header off a Sam cross when Clark dove to his right to acrobatically push the ball away.
Though the Crew (6-6-6) had the better of the play in the second half, the Red Bulls (6-6-5) were in the match. But that’s when Kamara and Finley provided the difference-maker on a goal in the 74th minute that started with Clark and produced six straight passes.
Clark played the ball on the left to Pogatetz, who sent a long ball that again found Kamara with no Red Bulls player around him. Kamara headed the ball to Kristinn Steindorsson, who had just entered the match three minutes earlier. Steindorsson pushed a pass to Federico Higuain on the right, and he sent a curving cross in the left to Kamara, who moved into the attack. Kamara headed the ball across the goal in the path of Finlay, who fought off Red Bulls defender Kemar Lawrence as he slid to push the ball into the net.
Kamara and Finley have combined for 17 goals and 15 assists this season.
“They really use every inch of the field, they really spread themselves out well and they are good at keeping the ball,” Davis said. “We knew that coming in, it was similar to the last game (against Columbus). It was a tough match that really requires everyone to work really hard. You put a lot into it and that's how Columbus will beat you.”
But the Red Bulls will rue the non-calls by referee Juan Guzman. In the 64th minute, Sam lined a cross from the right that struck the arm of Crew defender Waylon Francis, and in the 90th minute, a cross by Lawrence from deep on the left side again struck Francis on the arm as he was fighting off Mike Grella in front of the net. Either call and the Red Bulls return home with a point. Instead, the Crew vaulted into second place in the Eastern Conference while the Red Bulls drop to sixth.
“(The loss is) disappointing,” Grella said. “We had a lead in the game and we had chances to go ahead and take control and I thought we were better than them for large parts of the game. We just didn't come away with the result. It's been a long stretch, so we will go back and get some rest and be ready to go for next week.”
The game concludes a stretch of six games in 19 days for the Red Bulls, who will have a full week prior to Saturday’s home match against the New England Revolution.
“Right now, it's physically and mentally recharging because we've put a lot into these last three weeks,” Marsch said. “Credit goes to the guys. Going into those we knew we were coming out of a losing stretch, and they all dug in. We got contributions from a lot of different players and, overall, I thought we had a lot of good games in there and good moments. So it's a tough way to end, but we're going to take it, swallow it and move forward.”
