Saturday night the New York Red Bulls brought their eight-game winless streak into Pizza Hut Park knowing very well the odds were stacked against them in making the playoffs. FC Dallas on the other hand had fallen over their last six games and was looking to rebound to keep a good seed in the upcoming playoffs. The ending result, a 1-0 Red Bulls victory, may not have been what most expected.
While the Red Bulls were already shorthanded there may have been a bit of relief in knowing FC Dallas leading scorer, Brek Shea, was unavailable to play, due to a yellow card accumulation penalty.
Despite the lack of their leading scorer on the pitch Dallas kept up the intensity getting off 19 shots in the game, 8 on goal, compared to the New York’s six shots with four on goal. For the Red Bull they made one of their four on goal count, and that was all that was needed. Luke Rodgers had the lone goal of the match in the 36th minute and the Red Bulls, helped by a clean sheet by Frank Rost, would hang on to win their first match since a 5-0 victory against Toronto on July 6th. It was also only their 2nd road win of the season.
Due to the new expanded MLS Playoff structure the Red Bulls currently find themselves sitting in the final spot for the playoffs, but DC United still holds an advantage with two games in hand.
The Red Bulls will see a major challenge this coming Wednesday when they take on Real Salt Lake in Red Bull Arena.