Defensive Mistakes Give Red Bulls 2-2 Draw with W Connection

A modest crowd came out to see the New York Red Bulls take on W Connection in Marabella, T&T on Thursday night.  The Red Bulls fielded a strong line-up, including new signing Ernst Obster. 

For New York Red Bulls fans the MLS season has been over for months now and the prospect of getting through to the CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage represents the only possibility of success this season.  Perhaps more importantly, Red Bulls management would love to have exciting knock-out matches to help open their new stadium in 2010. 

W Connection is returning to Champions League play after a failing to qualify last year.  Exciting Dominican Jonathan Fana Frias and home grown Andre Toussaint lead the creative attack for the Trinidad and Tobago club. 

First Half 

Within the first minute the Red Bulls nearly gifted a goal to W Connection as a turnover gave Andre Toussaint possession in the final third.  However, Jonathan Fana Frias strayed offside before receiving the ball, sparing the Red Bulls blushes. 

After the opening flurry both teams proceeded slowly, feeling each other out.  After 11 minutes Dane Richards gave up a dangerous free kick to W Connection near the box.  The ensuing cross was met by Brazilian defender Renato Pereira, but his header fell just wide of Danny Cepero’s goal. 

In the 22nd, Jorge Rojas fired the first warning shots at the home team.  After his first long range strike was deflected out for a corner, he took a bouncing ball from the right corner and hit a dipping volley for the far post.  W Connection goalkeeper, Marvin Phillip, did well to knock the ball down and collect the rebound. 

Despite New York controlling most of the possession, it was W Connection that broke the deadlock in the 40th minute after Juan Pablo Angel’s sloppy clearance from a corner deflected off the cross bar, into the ground, and off the cross bar again, before Jonathan Fana Frias slammed the ball into the back of the net. 

The goal immediately opened up the game.  Three minutes after the goal, Rojas broke a counter-attack open sending Obster down the left wing.  His cross was headed on by the W Connection defense to Dane Richards on the far post.  Richards spun around his defender and crossed back to Angel, but his header went straight to Phillip. 

Second Half 

It took Ernst Obster less than three minutes to equalize the score.  Dane Richards created space down the right and broke into the box.  The cross missed Angel’s near post run but found Obster, whose shot deflected down off the arm of a W Connection defender and past Marvin Phillip. 

Jonathan Fana Frias left the game in the 56th minute with a hamstring injury and the W Connection attack lost its edge settling for counter attacks for the rest of the game.

Within two minutes Dane Richards showed a flash of brilliance to leave his marker stranded.  After receiving the ball just inside the corner of the box Richards spun to his left, and cut inside his marker, Kern Cupid, who was left flat-footed as he watched Richards charge towards goal.  However, Richards lost his composure and fired the ball over the goal. 

Only two minutes later New York took the lead through a bizarre deflection goal by Alfredo Pacheco.  Pacheco hit a low driven shot for the far post, but it was a sliding clearance attempt by Captain Elijah Joseph that curled the ball into the upper corner of the net, leaving Phillip stranded. 

W Connection replied ten minutes later against the run of play, Hughton Hector took full advantage of Alfredo Pacheco’s mistake.  As the ball swung across the top of the box, Pacheco mistimed his interception, leaving Hector alone at the top of the box.  He took two touches and fired a shot past Cepero, off the far post and into the near post side netting. 

Another substitute, Anthony Bartholomew, nearly gave the home team the win in the 83rd. Batholomew slid in behind the center backs, where a nice chip found him alone in the box.  He held off Jeremy Hall, but the ball was cleared for a corner before he could get his shot off. 

After the equalizer the Red Bulls were content to leave with a draw and two away goals.  They head home with a slim advantage, while W Connection knows they will most likely need to win without conceding. 

Terence Steed is the New York correspondent for Goal.com.

For more on the CCL visit Goal.com'd CONCACAF page.