http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Dallas-c39095 0-2 New York Red Bulls: RBNY’s strong defence pays off – MLS Playoffs
New York Red Bulls held strong in front of FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park and emerged victors with a 2-0 win over the Western Conference foes on Wednesday, October 26.
Hans Backe played a defensive team against the Toros, who are known for their speed and ball distribution. The RBNY’s lone agenda was to hold FCD skipper, Daniel Hernandez, from distributing the ball to the forward line.
“I thought they’d be all over us in the first 15, 20 minutes with the pace they have,” Backe said. “As I said before the game, I think the key has to be to close down Hernandez’s distribution, so we put http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thierry-Henry-c34918 on him and then we sat with four in the
midfield just to cover the space for the pacey guys in Dallas, the front three guys.”
The tactic paid dividends and the Red Bulls succeeded in the second half with goals from strikers http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Joel-Lindpere-c18729 and Thierry Henry.
The Hoops barged into the game with speed and home ground advantage but the Red Bulls did not lose their composure and played a defensive game.
FCD striker Marvin Chavez and midfielder Jackson had strong chances to take an early lead but they failed in the offensive third.
The Red Bulls came strong in the second half and scored their first goal in the 61st minute, thanks to a lacklustre clearance by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mehdi-Ballouchy-c25116.
The Moroccan crossed the ball to Lindpere, who easily redirected it into the netting.
“The ball went out to Mehdi and Mehdi gave me a great ball and I was timing my run very perfectly,” Lindpere said. “Maybe I didn’t hit the ball so hard, but it was difficult to reach for the goalie.”
The FCD failed to capitalize on another good opportunity when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jan-Gunnar-Solli-c17759 was given a straight red card after a malicious foul on Daniel Hernandez. However, Backe’s men stood firm and absorbed the pressure exerted by the Dallas.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Bulls found the back of the net again in the 8th minute of second-half stoppage time. Thierry Henry hammered the final nail in the FCD coffin with his 14th goal of the season.
The Red Bulls now face http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Los-Angeles-Galaxy-c39818 in the two-legged Conference semi-final at Red Bull Arena and The Home Depot Center on October 30 and November 3 respectively.
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