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Kansas City Wizards 0-3 New York Red Bulls: Juan Pablo Angel Shows His Class
Jun 26, 2010 11:48:00 PM
By Avery Raimondo
Led by star striker Juan Pablo Angel, the New York Red Bulls returned from their World Cup break where they left off with a three-nil victory over the Kansas City Wizards. Although the first half was bereft of any excitement, the second was an exhilarating 45 minutes that saw New York emerge as the dominant side.
The match continued the trend of the Red Bulls not necessarily being the best side throughout stretches, but still prevailing. This resiliency is the reason why the Red Bulls are tied with the Columbus Crew for first in the Eastern Conference while the Wizards continue to languish toward the bottom.
First Half
A lack of match sharpness, blistering heat, and a less than desirable stadium for soccer all stifled the quality play in the first half of the encounter between the New York Red Bulls and the Kansas City Wizards. The long layoff of three weeks created by the World Cup had both sides obviously rusty, as neither was capable of putting together any extended stretch of proper soccer. The location of the match, Community America Ballpark, an adjusted baseball field, also contributed to the match's poorness; the narrowness of the pitch and 90 degree temperature manifested in a sluggish and crowded 45 minutes.
The goalless interval saw few true opportunities with both teams eschewing the majority of their chances wide. Bouna Coundoul of New York and Jimmy Conrad of Kansas City commanded their boxes and saved any shot that actually hit the target.
The most dangerous opportunity of the first half for either squad came in the 30th minute. Danleigh Borman pressed forward from his left back position and curled a beautiful cross dangerously towards Salou Ibrahim. Nielsen stepped out to challenge, but the ball reached the raised foot of the Ghanaian striker first. Ibrahim though was unable to finish the cross as he deflected the fantastic chance wide.
Second Half
The end-to-end first 20 minutes of the second half allowed the fans in Missouri to quickly forget the drabness of the preceding half. Immediately, a Ryan Smith volley that curled into the mitts of Coundoul displayed the new urgency instilled in the match.
During three instances in the next ten minutes, the Wizards were able to breakthrough the Red Bull backline, but they couldn’t put a real effort on net. In the 47th minute, Davy Arnaud was played through by a flick and he rampaged toward goal until pressure by Coundoul forced the midfielder to shoot wide. After Craig Rocastle floated a pass into the New York box in the 51st minute, Smith hesitated before Coundoul won the ball once again. The final KC chance of the period occurred when the Senegalese keeper punched a cross to the top of the box. Smith volleyed a hard strike that Jack Jewsbury deflected wide of the frame.
The complexion of the match was completely changed in the 55th minute when Ibrahim headed past a stranded Nielsen. Juan Pablo Angel harmlessly flicked a Coundoul goal kick on over the Kansas City defense, but Aaron Hohlbein missed his header back to Nielsen who was coming out to collect. Ibrahim slipped past the central defender and powerfully headed the first goal of the match into the KC net.
From that goal on, the evening decidedly belonged to the visitors as New York controlled the remainder of the match. In the 58th minute, Seth Stammler sidestepped Jewsbury before hitting an absolute rocket from 25 yards out that cannoned off the woodwork. A minute later, a combination opened space for Sinisa Ubiparipovic in the box, but his powerful effort went wide of goal. Kei Kamara, Kansas City’s leading goalscorer, did have one opportunity as he struck low at the near post in the 60th minute after a layoff from Arnaud. Coundoul was once again up to snuff as he dived to deny the attempt.
After a 20 minute lull in the otherwise exciting half, Angel doubled the New York lead with an outstanding individual goal in the 82nd minute. Coundoul’s long punt bounced once before arriving in the Kansas City area. The Colombian held off Holbein and volleyed under Nielsen, who should have done better to keep his side in the match. Two minutes later, Angel played the provider as he served Roy Miller through on goal, but his strike was just wide of the far post.
In stoppage time with the match dying, Angel once again showed why he’s among the MLS elite. He shrugged off Holbein and dragged past Nielsen who was late coming out to the edge of the box. From there, Angel simply passed his eight goal of the season into the net. The play was the miserable end to an awful night for the two Wizards mentioned in the sequence.
Frustration got to Arnaud in the 94th minute when he was sent off for a lunging, studded challenge on Joel Lindpere. The Wizards who are 3-6-3 must now regroup against FC Dallas on July 3 without one of their most important players. The Red Bulls on the other hand exit Kansas City knowing that they remain atop the Eastern Conference.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
The match continued the trend of the Red Bulls not necessarily being the best side throughout stretches, but still prevailing. This resiliency is the reason why the Red Bulls are tied with the Columbus Crew for first in the Eastern Conference while the Wizards continue to languish toward the bottom.
First Half
A lack of match sharpness, blistering heat, and a less than desirable stadium for soccer all stifled the quality play in the first half of the encounter between the New York Red Bulls and the Kansas City Wizards. The long layoff of three weeks created by the World Cup had both sides obviously rusty, as neither was capable of putting together any extended stretch of proper soccer. The location of the match, Community America Ballpark, an adjusted baseball field, also contributed to the match's poorness; the narrowness of the pitch and 90 degree temperature manifested in a sluggish and crowded 45 minutes.
The goalless interval saw few true opportunities with both teams eschewing the majority of their chances wide. Bouna Coundoul of New York and Jimmy Conrad of Kansas City commanded their boxes and saved any shot that actually hit the target.
The most dangerous opportunity of the first half for either squad came in the 30th minute. Danleigh Borman pressed forward from his left back position and curled a beautiful cross dangerously towards Salou Ibrahim. Nielsen stepped out to challenge, but the ball reached the raised foot of the Ghanaian striker first. Ibrahim though was unable to finish the cross as he deflected the fantastic chance wide.
Second Half
The end-to-end first 20 minutes of the second half allowed the fans in Missouri to quickly forget the drabness of the preceding half. Immediately, a Ryan Smith volley that curled into the mitts of Coundoul displayed the new urgency instilled in the match.
During three instances in the next ten minutes, the Wizards were able to breakthrough the Red Bull backline, but they couldn’t put a real effort on net. In the 47th minute, Davy Arnaud was played through by a flick and he rampaged toward goal until pressure by Coundoul forced the midfielder to shoot wide. After Craig Rocastle floated a pass into the New York box in the 51st minute, Smith hesitated before Coundoul won the ball once again. The final KC chance of the period occurred when the Senegalese keeper punched a cross to the top of the box. Smith volleyed a hard strike that Jack Jewsbury deflected wide of the frame.
The complexion of the match was completely changed in the 55th minute when Ibrahim headed past a stranded Nielsen. Juan Pablo Angel harmlessly flicked a Coundoul goal kick on over the Kansas City defense, but Aaron Hohlbein missed his header back to Nielsen who was coming out to collect. Ibrahim slipped past the central defender and powerfully headed the first goal of the match into the KC net.
From that goal on, the evening decidedly belonged to the visitors as New York controlled the remainder of the match. In the 58th minute, Seth Stammler sidestepped Jewsbury before hitting an absolute rocket from 25 yards out that cannoned off the woodwork. A minute later, a combination opened space for Sinisa Ubiparipovic in the box, but his powerful effort went wide of goal. Kei Kamara, Kansas City’s leading goalscorer, did have one opportunity as he struck low at the near post in the 60th minute after a layoff from Arnaud. Coundoul was once again up to snuff as he dived to deny the attempt.
After a 20 minute lull in the otherwise exciting half, Angel doubled the New York lead with an outstanding individual goal in the 82nd minute. Coundoul’s long punt bounced once before arriving in the Kansas City area. The Colombian held off Holbein and volleyed under Nielsen, who should have done better to keep his side in the match. Two minutes later, Angel played the provider as he served Roy Miller through on goal, but his strike was just wide of the far post.
In stoppage time with the match dying, Angel once again showed why he’s among the MLS elite. He shrugged off Holbein and dragged past Nielsen who was late coming out to the edge of the box. From there, Angel simply passed his eight goal of the season into the net. The play was the miserable end to an awful night for the two Wizards mentioned in the sequence.
Frustration got to Arnaud in the 94th minute when he was sent off for a lunging, studded challenge on Joel Lindpere. The Wizards who are 3-6-3 must now regroup against FC Dallas on July 3 without one of their most important players. The Red Bulls on the other hand exit Kansas City knowing that they remain atop the Eastern Conference.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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