July 28, 2012
TWO-MINUTE MELTDOWN
Early 2nd-half goals doom Red Bulls in a 3-1 defeat at the Impact

Red Bulls captain Thierry Henry: "I think at the end of the day it’s good for us sometimes to get a little slap. They played way better than us." Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images

MONTREAL -- The Red Bulls side that entered the field at Stade Saputo for the second half certainly wasn't the same one that played in the opening 45 minutes.

The visitors allowed two quick goals within a five-minute span and went on to suffer a 3-1 Major League Soccer loss to the Montreal Impact on Saturday night.

"We didn’t show up the first five minutes of the second half," Red Bulls coach Hans Backe said. "You concede two goals on the road and you lose the game. Overall, it’s three terrible mistakes. You can’t concede goals like this. You lose games and it’s very disappointing.

Despite the defeat, the Red Bulls (38 points) remained in first place by a point over the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer with an 11-6-5 mark.

"We are still 11 points ahead," said captain and striker Thierry Henry, who scored the Red Bulls' lone goal. "But I think at the end of the day it’s good for us sometimes to get a little slap. They played way better than us."

After a scoreless first half, the Red Bulls began a two-minute meltdown three minutes after intermission.

The Impact's Felipe Martins slid the ball to Justin Mapp at the top of the box and the midfielder picked his head up before finding Marco Di Vaio on the left side. Di Vaio controlled the pass and slotted it into the back of the net past goalkeeper Bill Gaudette before a capacity crowd of 19,441.

"I finally scored my first goal and it felt great to get that monkey off my back but it felt even better because it came in an important win for the team," Di Vaio said.

Davy Arnaud doubled the hosts’ lead less than two minutes later. Martins flicked the ball over the Red Bulls back line to an onside Arnaud, who ripped it off a diving Gaudette and in.

Henry pulled one back for the Red Bulls in the 57th minute. Left fullback Roy Miller slipped the ball on the wing to Joel Lindpere and the Estonian international’s cross found its way to the back post to Henry. Henry brought it down with his right foot and hit it over goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

The hosts sealed the result by taking a 3-1 advantage in the 74th minute. Di Vaio passed it to Martins at the top of the penalty area and the Impact player hit a through pass to Sanna Nyassi. Nyassi was able to round an onrushing Gaudette and put it home from an acute angle.

"We were organized," Impact coach Jesse Marsch said, "we were hard on them and we didn’t give them much. A bunch of guys had good nights and collectively, we kept things tight. New York’s a good team. We made it hard on Henry and their key guys, and overall that was a good performance."

New York had a prime opportunity to take the lead in the 12th minute. After Connor Lade was fouled, Henry’s ensuing free kick was flicked on frame by Kenny Cooper. Ricketts parried the shot in front of his net and Red Bulls defender Markus Holgersson got to it first, hitting the rebound over the crossbar. Nine minutes later, Impact defender Jeb Brovsky put Justin Mapp through on the left wing and Mapp’s right-footed attempt was blocked by Gaudette at the near post.

The Red Bulls knocked on the door again in the 33th minute. First, Cooper got to a loose ball in the box first and Ricketts made a sprawling stop to deny the New York striker’s shot. After the ball was initially cleared, Sebastien Le Toux got his head to an in-swinger and barely missed the target. On the other end, Gaudette again came up trumps for the visitors, deflecting an Arnaud blast out of harm’s way.

Red Bulls midfielder Dax McCarty picked up a yellow card Saturday and is suspended for the team’s next match at Houston due to card accumulation.

Italian international defender Alessandro Nesta made his Montreal debut.

"I’m very happy the way this new chapter in my life started," he said. "We won an important game in my debut and Marco scored his first goal. I’m very happy."

The same could not be said of the Red Bulls.


Scoring Summary:

MTL: Marco Di Vaio 1 (Justin Mapp 4, Felipe Martins 6) 48’
MTL: Davy Arnaud 4 (Felipe Martins 7) 50’
NY: Thierry Henry 11 (Joel Lindpere 5, Roy Miller 5) 57’
MTL: Sanna Nyassi 4 (Felipe Martins 8, Marco Di Vaio 2) 74’

Disciplinary Summary:
MTL: Patrice Bernier (caution) 27’
NY: Roy Miller (caution) 71’
MTL: Marco Di Vaio (caution) 71’
NY: Thierry Henry (caution) 73’
NY: Dax McCarty (caution) 83’

New York Red Bulls (11-6-5, 38 points) – Bill Gaudette (GK), Jan Gunnar Solli, Markus Holgersson, Wilman Conde, Roy Miller, Sebastien Le Toux, Dax McCarty, Joel Lindpere (Victor Palsson 79’), Connor Lade, Thierry Henry, Kenny Cooper

Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Meara (GK), Jhonny Arteaga, Jonathan Borrajo, Stephen Keel

Montreal Impact (8-13-3, 27 points) – Donovan Ricketts (GK), Jeb Brovsky, Nelson Rivas (Matteo Ferrari 78’), Alessandro Nesta, Hassoun Camara, Patrice Bernier, Collen Warner, Justin Mapp (Sanna Nyassi 61’), Felipe (Andrew Wenger 87’), Davy Arnaud, Marco Di Vaio

Substitutes Not Used: Evan Bush (GK), Dennis Iapichino, Lamar Neagle, Sinisa Ubiparipovic

Referee: Abbey Okulaja
Referee’s Assistants: Philippe Briere, Scott Kachmarik
4th Referee: Mathieu Bourdeau
Attendance: 19,441

www.newyorkredbulls.com