Photo by ISIphotos.com
BY DYLAN BUTLER
Seconds from what would have been an impressive 2-1 come-from-behind victory against D.C. United, the Red Bulls suffered one of their most stinging losses, dropping a pair of goals in a span of 1:42 at the death.
First Luciano Emilio scored the 90th-minute equalizer. And then Chris Pontius followed a defensive miscue between Alfredo Pacheco and Jon Conway to score the winner in the first of three minutes of stoppage time.
So what went wrong on Pontius' strike?
Both Conway and Pacheco froze as Marc Burch's long ball bounced inside the box. That hesitation allowed Thabiso (Boyzzz) Khumalo to take a touch before Pontius knocked it into the open net.
So who was to blame? When asked if Conway called for the ball, the keeper said "I've got to look over it, view it, see what the situation was. I have to look at it this week."
Pacheco, though, saw things clearly.
"He talked to me," Pacheco said through a translator. "He said it was his ball. Let teh ball. I've got the ball. There was communication. Conway said it's my ball. There was no miscommunication."
Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio, though, didn't care who was going to handle the ball, just as long as it was cleared from danger.
"They both have to clear the ball, one way or the other," Osorio said. "Everybody will have their own opinion, but Alfredo slid and Conway was nearby, but we were very poor defending the ball."
The final result was three more points squandered at home. On March 28, Kenny Mansally struck for the tying goal in the 90th minute to lead New England to a 1-1 draw with the Red Bulls at Giants Stadium.
"What happened today is just unacceptable," Juan Pablo Angel said. "We should have killed the game off, we should have won it. It happened against New England, as well. But today, I think it was even worse."
Ironically, if not for the late-game meltdown, the Red Bulls would been lauded for arguably its best half of the season. Osorio made a tactical change after a miserable first half, bringing Jorge Rojas on and switching to three in the back. Rojas and Mac Kandji were sharp and dangerous off the bench and Angel was clincal inside the 18-yard box.
Rojas set up both Red Bulls goals -- Angel's 68th-minute equalizer and Dane Richards' go-ahead goal six minutes later. But the only topic discussed in the sullen New York locker room after the game was three points got away.
"This is very tough," Kandji said. "I think this is the toughest one I've been through so far. I thought we had this win in the bag. You know, two goals, two minutes, just unbelievable. I don't even know what to say about this one."
