Match Thoughts: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. New York Red Bulls

In my MLS preview this week, I gave the Caps a pretty good chance to knock off the Red Bulls and pick up their first win since opening weekend. I mean, they usually play pretty well at home. Also, the Red Bulls have been struggling lately, and they were already missing Rafa Marquez and Henry. So, lets see what happened.

Vancouver very much came out on the front foot, and NY struggled early on containing the attack. Hassli got a shot off as early as the second minute, and made a pest of himself in general for the NY defense.

It wasn't just the Vancouver DP that was making a pest out of himself. NY has a guy that's pretty good at that too, Luke Rodgers. He was all over the Vancouver 18, and in many ways was the only Red Bull who really showed up. He got off a couple of shots in the first ten minutes, but couldn't get anything on target. Yet.

Those chances were pretty much against the run of play though. Vanouver was definitely in the game. Their goal came in the 24th minute. Carlos Mendes upended Camilo in the area, and it earned the Whitecaps a PK. Hassli stepped up and smoked the spot kick into the back of the net. Sutton guessed right in goal for NY, but the ball was by him before he got down. 1-0 to the home side.

The Red Bulls weren't of a mind to surrender to the expansion side though. Even though Vancouver had the better possession, NY had the better chances, mostly through the feet of Luke Rodgers. This was good because Agudelo was pretty much absent.

NY finally got their goal from Rodgers. In the 33rd minute he scored after a set piece chanced and evened the game at 1-1. That score held through the rest of a rather lackluster half.

The second half was rather bleh. Both teams had some chances, but nothing really of any great quality. NY had a bit of a flurry toward the end, but nothing came of it, and the match ended at 1-1.

So what does this result mean for the teams? While New York probably really did see this as a winnable match, they'll certainly take the point on the road minus Marquez and Henry. For the Whitecaps, the frustration continues to build. Week after week they come out and play decent ball. Some weeks, like this week, they probably play well enough to win, but the pieces just aren't there right now to be able to seal the three points.