Galaxy/Red Bull running blog

Well, well, if the montage of the nine goals scored the last time these two teams met in New York doesn't amp you up for this game, I don't know what will.
Galaxy
* 1 - Steve Cronin (GK)
* 3 - Greg Vanney
* 4 - Ante Jazic
* 7 - Chris Klein
* 8 - Peter Vagenas
* 10 - Landon Donovan
* 12 - Troy Roberts
* 14 - Edson Buddle
* 15 - Alvaro Pires
* 20 - Carlos Ruiz
* 23 - David Beckham
New York
* 18 - Jon Conway (GK)
* 2 - Kevin Goldthwaite
* 4 - Carlos Mendes
* 6 - Seth Stammler
* 9 - Juan Pablo Angel
* 11 - Dave van den Bergh
* 13 - Jorge Rojas
* 19 - Dane Richards
* 20 - Oscar Echeverry
* 27 - Andrew Boyens
* 60 - Jeff Parke

Actually, besides Jozy, I think the player that New York will miss in this game is Clint Mathis. He made a real impact in that Galaxy game.
Kickoff!
1 - Ruiz cuts the wrong way and misses a Galaxy pass.
2 - Foul on Klein - who gets a yellow Sullivan doesn't think it was deserved, but the ref wants to keep things under control.
3 - Beckham blocks the kick with his face and women scream/cheer as he grins sheepishly.
4- New York is attacking from the start, though Dane Richards gets stood up by Jazic. Dane's speed can be deadly.
5 - Galaxy get a deep throw, but NY get the ball back quickly as Vagenas puts the ball out.
6 - Becks drives a deep FK, but the Red Bull backline isn't fooled - Conway claims the ball.
8 - The fans are noisy - but its indistinct. No clear chants. Richards from distance over the bar.
9 - Echeverry slips just before the cross, or it might have been a better one.
11 - Cronin grabs the ball a nanosecond before Angel gets there.
12 - The Galaxy work a good attack up the field, but Jazic's cross isn't great. Klein can't really do anything with it. It's too close to the line when he tries to bring it down.
13 - NY goes the other way, but the Galaxy line blocks two shots.
14 - Buddle goes down, earning the G's a foul, but in their own half.
15 - Becks takes it, then catches up the the rebound but his cross is deflected.
16 - NY - Richards in the box but Cronin dives to snuff the ball. Ruiz misses on the other end. Wide. Match is back and forth now, pace picked up a lot.
17 - Beckham get fouled in midfield. Now Jazic fouls Richards - as Dane lies on the ground, the camera catches his arm freckled with rubber turf bits.
19 - Angel! He cuts around Roberts, leaves him on the ground, gets the ball into the edge of the box and fires on Cronin, who palms the ball away. He's lucky that didn't break his wrist. The shot was a rocket.
21 - Donovan breaks free, hits a great pass for Ruiz, who fires low, but Conway gets a footsave on it and even tangles up Ruiz while he secures the ball, preventing a rebound goal.
23 - Donovan sets up another attack, passes to Jazic who crosses to Ruiz, but it's too far in front of Fish and Conway gets it.
24 - Every close-up shot of the players shows pissed-off faces. It's hot down there, but also the defense is heated on both sides. I don't see nine goals in this game.
25 - Or maybe. Donovan earns a foul just at the top of the box. Becks sets up.
26 - Becks hits wall - gets a corner. It's cleared.
28 - Weird midfield play there - Becks is far back.
29 - GOAL! Cronin had to come out of the box to kick away a ball, leaving the goal empty. Becks corrals the ball in midfield, passes up to Buddle, who beats Parke in the box and trusts Ruiz, dinking a chip pass in front of goal to him. Ruiz gets a head on it, it dinks into goal slowly, but because Conway was out of position, it goes in. 1-0 Galaxy.
32 - That is weird - it really didn't look like Pires fouled Angel there. I guess the name gets the call at times. Or the more spectacular fall, since Angel tumbled over the back of Pires.
34 - GOAL! Van den Burg! Stammler scrapped for the ball in midfield, passed to Rojas, who slipped a tricky ball to VDB. He had a smidgen of room and split the ball between defenders, surprising Cronin and hitting side netting. 1-1 Tied up.
38 - Vanney gets a foul, though he protests that Ech was pulling on his shorts. The FK is cleared.
39 - Donovan volley from a Klein pass, but it's high.
42 - Buddle is handling the ball as much as any playmaker right now.
43 - Ech earns a deep FK as Roberts fouls him. Galaxy clear.
44 - The Galaxy are playing these nice short passes, but the turf confounds a lot of their efforts.
45 - Angel gets on to a lucky bounce, then attacks and hits a perfect pass to Ech, but Roberts slides in perfectly to prevent the shot. Nice.
45 + Galaxy build up a play, Ruiz looked like he was fouled, but the ref lets it go, then perhaps squares up the justice as Angel tumbles at the other end without a call.
Halftime - I like the way that the Galaxy played better than New York, but VDB's goal was worthy. New York's scrappy defense can't be faulted, either.
46 - Angel in the box, goes down, not call.
47 - NY doesn't have the buildup that the Galaxy have, but as long as Angel is on the end of those long passes, they have a major threat on goal.
49 - Richard is coming off the field on a stretcher - no one touched him but the turf or the heat may be to blame.
50 - NY attacking with ten men. Stammer with an outside shot, but unlike VDB, he hits it with rise and it goes over the goal.
52 - Ruiz with a shot in the box - Conway blocks, but Ruiz looks threatening now. At least he's forcing the issue, where the goalkeeper has to make saves.
53 - Jazic is pissed that there's a corner there. NY threatens with it, but the header is wide.
55 - SAVE - as the Galaxy defense is befuddled, VDB fires again, but Cronin stops this one.
56 - Galaxy shot on the other end is stopped b Conway.
57 - Buddle works hard to earn a corner for the G's. It goes far over to LD, whose shot is defelcted for another corner. Becks takes it, Buddle touches the ball down but his shot his deflected.
59 - Rojas! Over the bar! Wow, though it looked like offside on VDB, the play was valid and Rojas was right in front of goal.
60 - Another pass from Stammler finds Rojas, who crosses to Angel. Klein gets a foot in, NY corner. Cronin catches it.
61 - Another NY corner. Ruud looks frustrated. Something's going to give soon. Cronin catches the service, though.
63 - Now the Galaxy have a corner. Ech is out for John Wolyniec. Beck's service is headed out for Angel. Conway gets a yellow for shoving someone.
64 - Conway punches out the next corner.
65 - Ruiz and Buddle both chase a through ball from LD, but Conway gets there first.
66 - Long pass for Angel again. One of those is going to pay off, but it won't be this one.
68 - Galaxy in the box, but shot is deflected and only a corner. NY clears it.
69 - SAVE! Croning comes up big on a save after VDB crosses perfectly to Rojas and he put a knockdown header on frame.
71 - GOAL! The Galaxy were looking dangerous in the attack, but the Red Bulls strike on the counter. Angel gets the ball in the box and completely jukes Vanney in the box, then lifts the ball to the far post over Cronin as the goalkeeper comes out to shut him down. 2-1 New York
Vagenas gets a yellow for dissent. He was mad that he was pulled by Rojas as he tried to reach Vanney to help on defense just before Angel's goal.
73 - New York on the attack again, beating the Galaxy defense hard and firing on goal. Cronin is beaten but Roberts kicks out the ball on the line. Ball falls to VDB, who fires over the bar.
76 - New York looks really confident on the counter now, while the Galaxy look tired.
78 - Ruiz in the box, great work to beat is defender, but shoots into an onrushing Conway.
79 - Vanney is out for Gordon. Gullit is chasing this game.
80 - LD in the box, but Parke snuffs his cross.
81 - So close! VDB beats Klein and shoots on goal by an angle, Cronin parries to the foot of Woly! Over the bar!
83 - Angel with a tricky play over Cronin but the ball goes out on him.
85 - SAVE! Cronin denies VDB. I thought that was in goal but Cronin knocked it out towards the back of the side netting.
86 - Becks gets a pass from Ruiz who is working hard, though he should have scored more than one. Becks' cross is cleared, though.
88 - Pete tries from distance after a run of Galaxy possession. LD mad he didn't get the pass as shot goes wide.
89 - Pietrevalho comes in for VDB.
90 - Gordon in the box. Red Bulls snuff that chance.
GOAL! LD! I DON'T EVEN THINK HE WAS TRYING TO SCORE! LD looked like he was trying to cross for Buddle, but it was a bit too high, then the ball took a crazy bounce in. 2-2
Angel on the other end cracks a shot on goal - Cronin dives and catches it.
LD Again! But it's off the post! Wow.
Final whistle.
Pretty crazy, sexy football, and a hot game. Nuts all the way around, but in the end, I think the result was fair. I may like the short possession passes the Galaxy were pulling a bit more than the passes over the top that NY was working, but the Red Bulls worked it to perfection and deserved both their goals. The Galaxy, however, deserved a little something, though they got lucky with the flukey goal.
OK, not nine goals, but four wasn't bad and it was an exciting game all around.
Ha, ha, both Angel and LD thought their team should have won in the post-game interviews. Big surprise.
I'm not in NY, by the way, but I can guess what Becks is saying in his post game presser.
"We could have won it, but we did well to get the draw so late."
"It was hot."
"Landon showed his skill."
"It showed our character and heart that we kept fighting."
"I hate turf." OK, Becks wouldn't say the last one, but I would bet he thought it.
VBD jokes about his weaker foot in the FSC interview. He's an amiable character and a quality player, even if he looks gangly on the field sometimes. It's deceptive.