HARRISON, NJ (October 5, 2013) –Tim Cahill’s goal in the seventh minute of second half stoppage time gave the Red Bulls a thrilling 2-2 tie Saturday against the New England Revolution at Red Bull Arena in front of a sold out crowd of 25,219 spectators, helping New York become the first team to punch their ticket to the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs.
With New York down 2-1, Cahill was able to be the first to a loose ball in the box and headed it into the back of the net for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.
Under first-year head coach Mike Petke, New York, which will participate in their 10th postseason in 11 years, improved to an Eastern Conference-best 53 points off a 15-9-8 record with two regular season games left to play. New York has a two-point lead in its conference over second place Sporting Kansas City.
The Red Bulls have a bye next week before returning to action on Sunday, Oct. 20 when they travel to BBVA Compass Stadium to battle the third place Houston Dynamo at 4:00 PM ET (TV: MSG, UniMas; Radio: ESPN Deportes Radio Nueva York 1050 AM). New York will host the Chicago Fire on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 5:00 PM at Red Bull Arena in the season finale for both teams. Tickets for Red Bulls matches are available by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER or logging onto www.newyorkredbulls.com.
New York had the majority of quality chances in the first half and Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry almost put the hosts in front two minutes into the contest, hitting a looping header over goalkeeper Matt Reis and just above the crossbar.
In the 14th minute, the Red Bulls took the lead. After good pressure from Jonny Steele, Fabian Espindola was able to intercept a Scott Caldwell back pass, dribbled towards the top of the box and deposited the ball into the lower right hand corner of the net with his right foot for his ninth goal of the season. Espindola nearly doubled his tally for the night and New York’s advantage 10 minutes following his first tally, nodding a Henry cross off the left post.
The Red Bulls searched for another goal and Henry nearly gave it to them, cutting to his left foot and curling an on target shot that a fully-extended Reis pushed aside. On the other end, New York’s goalkeeper Luis Robles made a key block on Saer Sene shot from 10 yards out.
The Revolution earned a controversial penalty kick when referee Fotis Bazakos ruled that Jamison Olave handled the ball in the box. Lee Nguyen stepped up and converted from the spot to tie the game with five minutes left to play.
Despite going down a man following an 86th minute red card issued to Andy Dorman, the visitors went in front and seemed to have earned the full three points. Diego Fagundez was able to capitalize on a New York turnover in its own half and drove towards the Red Bulls’ goal before putting it past Robles in the first minute of added time.
However, Cahill was the hero for New York and in the 97th minute, the Australian was able to get his head a loose ball after Reis punched away a Steele free kick and flicked it into the back of the net.
New York Red Bulls 2, New England Revolution 2
October 5, 2013 – Red Bull Arena – Harrison, NJ
MLS Regular Season
Scoring Summary:
NY: Fabian Espindola 9 (unassisted) 14’
NE: Lee Nguyen 4 (penalty kick) 85’
NE: Diego Fagundez 12 (unassisted) 91’+
NY: Tim Cahill 10 (unassisted) 97’+
Disciplinary Summary:
NE: A.J. Soares (caution) 19’
NY: Fabian Espindola (caution) 20’
NY: Jamison Olave (caution) 59’
NY: Markus Holgersson (caution) 65’
NE: Andy Dorman (red card, ejection) 86’
NE: Diego Fagundez (cauion) 96’+
New York Red Bulls (15-9-8, 53 points) – Luis Robles, Kosuke Kimura (Andre Akpan 91’+), Jamison Olave, Markus Holgersson, David Carney, Lloyd Sam (Eric Alexander 71’), Dax McCarty, Tim Cahill, Jonny Steele, Fabian Espindola (Peguy Luyindula 78’), Thierry Henry
Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Meara, Brandon Barklage, Ibrahim Sekagya, Ruben Bover
New England Revolution (11-11-9, 42 points) – Matt Reis, Andrew Farrell, A.J. Soares (Dimitry Imbongo 76’), Jose Goncalves, Chris Tierney, Scott Caldwell (Andy Dorman 56’), Lee Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe, Saer Sene, Diego Fagundez, Juan Agudelo (Jerry Bengtson 79’)
Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Stephen McCarthy, Kevin Alston, Chad Barrett
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Referee’s Assistants: George Gansner, Jonathan Johnson
4th Referee: Robert Sibiga
Attendance: 25,219 (sellout)
