January 28, 2010 POLISHING THEM OFF (UPDATED) Red Bulls blank Lech Poznan, 1-0
Juan Pablo Angel struck in the 42nd minute off a Jeremy Hall feed. Linda Cuttone/SportsVue Images
LA MANGA, Spain -- Forward Juan Pablo Angel’s first-half goal and a stout defensive effort propelled the Red Bulls to their first win of the year with a 1-0 victory over Poland’s Lech Poznan at the La Manga Resort Thursday afternoon.
The Red Bulls improved to 1-0-1 on their first pre-season trip of the season. They had played CSKA Moscow to a 1-1 draw Monday.
Lech Poznan controlled possession for the first part of the game, but both teams did not have many chances in the opening half hour. Poznan’s Sergei Krivets curled the ball around the Red Bulls’ wall on a 23-yard free kick in the 32nd minute, but it was caught easily by trialist goalkeeper Greg Sutton. On the other end, New York rookie Conor Chinn nearly got on the end of a Danleigh Borman pass that was gobbled up by Poznan goalkeeper Krzysztof Kotorowski.
"We wanted to be a little more compact defensively," Red Bulls draft choice Austin da Luz told Red Bull Reader. "They were getting a little behind us a little bit. We were fortunate with all the offside calls. We weren't playing that well keeping the ball in the first half. We wanted to keep the ball more."
Da Luz, a defender, played the final 28 minutes of the match after replacing left fullback Daniel Borman in the 62nd minute.
With six minutes until the break, New York generated its best chance up to that point. Angel gathered the ball in the midfield and strung a pass to an on-rushing Dane Richards, whose shot on target was blocked by Kotorowski.
The Red Bulls took the lead moments later. On a counterattack, midfielder Jeremy Hall found Angel at the top of the penalty box. Angel took a touch before lashing a low, right-footed shot past Kotorowski and inside the far post for his first goal of the year. Poznan nearly equalized off the restart, as Bartosz Bosacki nodded a cross high.
In the 82nd minute, the Polish side had its best chance of the day to score. Bortosz Berescynski found space in the box and rifled an on-target shot across the face of goal that a fully extended Bill Gaudette poked away. In second half stoppage time, a Berescynski header went straight at Gaudette in the game’s final scoring opportunity.
""We've been very, very organized and tough to break down [defensively]," da Luz told Red Bull Reader.
The Red Bulls complete their match schedule in Spain on Feb. 1 when they take on Norway’s Stromsgodset IF. The team is expected to return to the United States Feb. 4.
Former Toronto FC goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who is on trial with the Red Bulls, started in the nets. He was replaced by former St. John's standout and ex-Columbus Crew keeper Bill Gaudette, another trialist, at the start of the second half.
New York Red Bulls (1-0-1) – Greg Sutton* (Bill Gaudette* 46’), Danleigh Borman (Austin da Luz 62’), Tim Ream (Mike Petke 46’), Frederic Jonnson*, Carlos Johnson (Andrew Boyens 46’), Jeremy Hall, Seth Stammler (Ernst Oebster 62’), Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Walter Garcia 62’), Dane Richards, Conor Chinn, Juan Pablo Angel (Irving Garcia 62’)
Lech Poznan (First Half) – Krzysztof Kotorowski (GK), Tomasz Bandrowski, Robert Lewandowski, Jan Zapotoka, Zlatko Tanevski, Bartosz Bosacki, Anderson Denyro Cueto Sanchez, Grzegorz Wojtkowiak, Sergei Krivets, Mateusz Mozdzen, Marcin Kaminiski
Lech Poznan (Second Half) – Jasmin Buric (GK), Mateusz Szalek, Zlatko Tanesvski, Ivan Djurdjevic, Luis Alfonso Henriquez Ledezma, Kamic Drygas, Dimitrije Injac, Stawomir Peszko, Mateusz Mozdzen, Semir Stillic, Bortosz Berescynski
