I am still scratching my head over the stunning NEW YORK RED BULLS result over the HOUSTON DYNAMO. This was in my opinion the biggest upset in MLS playoff history. The RED BULLS walk into ROBERTSON stadium and pull off this result not in front of 12000 fans sitting on their hands but in front of 30,000 fans in a packed to the gills environment. No one to my knowledge gave the Red Bulls a chance other than themselves.

First on the RED BULLS: Juan Carlos Osorio deserves credit for having the courage to bench a number of his foreign signings to put out a workmanlike lineup. Clearly he felt this was the way to beat the Dynamo. Young players and work ethic were vital to this series for them. Names like Luke Sassano, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Dane Richards, Andrew Boyens among others Remember, they limped into the playoffs being humiliated on national tv against Chicago giving up a first half hat trick to Chris Rolfe. If not for DC hitting posts at Columbus they would not even be in the playoffs.

THE PLAYOFFS: This is the beauty or cruelty of MLS depending on which team you are, forget the regular season. Play a good game one and get confidence and you now are in a one game playoff to get to the conference final. Every MLS team had a shot of advancing going into their second match. After a controversy filled season how could the Red Bulls not feel somewhat relieved and confident after game one in New York. The playoffs give everyone who had indifferent seasons to clean the mental slate.

Tactics: NEW YORK must have loved walking out pre-game a realizing that the field was rock hard and could be an additional advantage. They were not coming to Robertson Stadium to play an aesthetically beautiful type of soccer based on their lineup.
Direct play was the norm, no risk at the back and they work ethic in midfield was disruptive to the Dynamo. Twenty one seconds in JUAN PABLO ANGEL made us all realize that they were at Robertson to compete. That message must have been inspiring to the youth in the squad. Finding him in the penalty area and the pace of DANE RICHARDS would be the main attacking threats. Mainly Richards at the end of the day.

SURVIVAL: The RED BULLS survived the ever important first 20 minutes of the game at Robertson. Some how!

GAMES FIRST GOAL: Lets face it. This was a huge mental lapse taken advantage of by the RED BULLS. Loss of possession from Ricardo Clark leading to no pressure on an opponent who hits a good direct ball. Dynamo backs don’t cover properly leaving huge space that Dane Richards cruised into. Where was the cover? This was as direct as it gets.
There is no telling what this meant confidence wise for the Red Bulls! Not to mention gave them the tactical advantage to play the game more on their terms.

DANE RICHARDS: The rap on the speedy RICHARDS has been that he can’t finish off plays. Not on this day. He played a part in all three goals and tormented the DYNAMO on the day. Now many have been coming down on WADE BARRETT and the overall pace of the DYNAMO backs but you have to consider a few things. First, the Dynamo midfield did not offer the proper balance to protect their backs on a number of occasions throughout the game. Many times Wade Barrett I felt was left unprotected by Brad Davis and the rest of the midfield. Isolated with Richards it was difficult for Barrett to deal with him. He seemed in two minds on many occasions and every coach in the league says ‘make sure we get a second defender over to Richards’. In fact on this day who could have defended him? This was about collective defending and it is real easy to simply point the finger at one player but it is happening. Who wouldn’t have Richards beaten off the dribble on this day if he was isolated against them?
An unbalanced midfield not offering the proper protection to their backs as well as a sub par day of possession and control has to be considered here in a big way here when it comes to controlling a game.
No one can say this was not impressive from Richards who played a part in all the goals. On a few too many occasions he was allowed to turn.

1. Goal #1 from Richards: Juan Pablo Angle drew Dynamo midfielder Eddie Robinson into midfield, Ubiparipovic with a direct ball found Richards on diagonal run into the huge space vacated by Robinson. Clearly Bobby Boswell needed to slide central and cover Robinson. He reacted late and was caught napping.

2. Goal number two Richards again was not dealt with well out wide as he got behind the Dynamo defense including Barrett and Davis forcing Ricardo Clark out of the middle to deal with him leading to the hand-ball.

3. On his third goal Boswell’s challenge was reckless and at minimum needed to foul him. After that he was off to the races beating Cory Ashe as well. After the long run you must applaud his ability and prescence of mind to find John Wolyniec…
The hard, fast surface was perfect for the speedy winger but he made the plays, he finished the plays and that is the difference.

Pretty amazing that one player could be this dominant on this day . What also has to be considered is the timeliness of their goals. Richards and the rest of the Red Bull midfield including Dave van den Berg were combative and matched the work ethic of the Dynamo like few can do at Robertson. Remember the year prior when the less mobile and less youthful midfield of Claudio Reyna, van den Berg, Markus Schopp tried to compete for the Red Bulls under Bruce Arena. The Dynamo destroyed them 4-0 as Arena took off Reyna and they could not compete in midfield. That game could have been 7-0 and was totally embarassing for NY. Osorio wanted to put out an athletic and youthful midfield to confront the Dynamo and he did.

NO one really stood out on the Dynamo…too many individual performances lacked their usual sharpness and their team shape was punished by the Red Bulls on their goals……..they had moments but it never seemed comfortable to me .

POSSESSION, PASSING AND CONTROL…The Dynamo just didn’t have that normal sharpness, that normal rhythm and confidence to me through passing. Credit the Red Bulls for making it difficult for them to play.

HAND OF FATE: Lets face it …to win MLS CUPS, WORLD CUPS any CUPS you have to have good fortune. That good fortune didn’t follow the Dynamo on this day. Despite not hitting all cyclinders they still created far more chances than New York and who knows what happens if Wade Barrett scores early in the match.

GOALKEEPING: An amazing performance from a young goalkeeper DANNY CEPERO who only made one mistake on the day. His positional sense was acute . The ball must have looked like a “beachball” to him.

Did the Dynamo stay too loyal to trying to find their passing and movement game. Based on the conditions should they have abandoned their attempt at the possession game and become more direct earlier? That normal penetration wide didn’t come often enough. It is all easy to question after the fact and in simple terms the Dynamo created more chances.

On another note what an amazing environment on a day that the NFL and the Texans were playing down the road…..SIGI SCHMID of the COLUMBUS CREW has been named coach of the year while DARREN HUCKERBY has landed the newcomer of the year award.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: REAL SALT LAKE VS. NEW YORK RED BULLS

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: COLUMBUS VS. CHICAGO

The New York Red Bulls pulled off what I think is the biggest upset or at least one of the biggest upsets in MLS history.
Thirty thousand fans plus pundits and critics across the country including me didn’t see this coming.

Dane Richards formerly off San Jacinto Community College ran wild playing a part of all three goals.
First he was found off a run right through the heart of the Dynamo defense and finished beautifully. With this goal the Red Bulls had gained the tactical edge.
But in the past the Dynamo have always found ways to come back and many may have thought that this was just an aberration. Another way of making it a dramatic come-back for the Dynamo.
A penalty kick call on a handball from Ricardo Clark off a cross from Richards which was then converted by Juan Pablo Angel begin to prey on the minds of both fans and players alike.
Richards capped off an amazing run finding John Wolyniec who was a forgotten man for much of the season for goal number three.

Stunning yes but also deserved. In the end New York matched the Dynamo ethic which is hard to do. Produced plays through Richards who couldn’t be contained and got an outstanding night in goal from Danny Cepero whom many didn’t know about. A star was born.

The dreams of a third straight championship have faded.

Now for the good news if you are a Houston fan.

*30,000 fans have to be noticed on a day where football was being played across town.

Let me know your thoughts on the Dynamo exit from the playoffs …….