Match Thoughts: New York Red Bulls vs. FC Dallas

So remember that one time New York traded for Dwayne De Rosario and they were gonna set MLS on fire? Well, neither do they. Remember that other time they signed that German keeper and that was the solution to all their trouble? Well, they lost 4-1 to Colorado. Could they create better memories back home against FC Dallas?

Not really.

The first half of this match totally sucked. To be fair though, it was 100 degrees in NY at kickoff, which is tough to play in no matter who you are. You would think that might give Dallas a little advantage because they play in those conditions as much as anybody in MLS. Well, you'd be wrong. After all, they'd just come off of another scorcher on Wednesday against TFC.

Let's just fast forward to the 39th minute, when Juan Agudelo put on a shot on goal that deflected past Kevin Hartman. That was the pretty much the only notable action in a first half that went the way of Red Bulls, 1-0.

Things got more interesting in the second half, mostly because Dallas finally showed up. Dane Richards picked up a yellow card in the 50th minute, then just a minute later Marvin Chavez lifted a ball over Rost to tie the game at 1-1.

The Red Bulls tried to respond though, and all in all the second half was pretty fun to watch. Dane Richards had an excellent chance in the 54th minute, but saw his blast rattle off of the post and the match remained level at 1-1.

All that changed in the 78th minute though. Marvin Chavez was again the hero for the Hoops. He found himself all alone as the NY defense engaged in some major ball watching on a set piece. He slotted the ball past a bewildered looking Frank Rost to make it 1-2 to FC Dallas.

The situation got worse for the Red Bulls in the 80th minute when Dane Richards picked up his second yellow of the match, leading to the red card ejection. New York went down a man and Richards will also miss NY's next league match at RSL on August 6th.

Luckily the Red Bulls still had Thierry Henry. The captain had been largely silent all afternoon, but showed up big in the 85th minute. The French International took a ball from Dax McCarty on the edge of the area, juked the Dallas defense out of their boots and blasted it past Hartman for the final goal, equalizing at 2-2.

Dallas will probably be more than happy with the point, coupled with the 3 against TFC. NY is obviously still struggling though. Someone besides Henry has to step up on that team, and I'm not sure who it's going to be. They were hampered by some pretty rough defense again in this one.