Forward Juan Pablo Angel’s first half goal and a some stout defense _ imagine that! _ gave the Red Bulls a 1-0 preseason shutout of Poland’s Lech Poznan in La Manga, Spain.
The Red Bulls are 1-0-1 during its first preseason trip of the year; and for the second straight game, they were compact and organized defensively. That’s a far cry _ and huge improvement _ over the disorganized bunch that leaked the most goals in MLS last season under ex-coach Juan Carlos Osorio. New coach Hans Backe hasn’t really even worked on offense yet, determined to improve their defensive discipline; so far, so good.
You can follow theier preseason on Red Bulls Reader.
Lech Poznan controlled possession for the first part of the match, but both teams did not have many chances in the opening half an hour. Poznan’s Sergei Krivets curled the ball around the Red Bulls’ wall on a 23-yard free kick in the 32nd minute, but it was caught easily by trialist goalkeeper Greg Sutton. On the other end, New York rookie Conor Chinn nearly got on the end of a Danleigh Borman pass that was gobbled up by Poznan goalkeeper Krzysztof Kotorowski.
With six minutes until the break, New York generated its best chance up to that point. Angel gathered the ball in the midfield and strung a pass to an on-rushing Dane Richards, whose shot on target was blocked by Kotorowski.
The Red Bulls took the lead moments later. On a counterattack, left winger Jeremy Hall found Angel at the top of the penalty box. Angel took a touch before lashing a low, right-footed shot past Kotorowski and inside the far post for his first goal of the year. Poznan nearly equalized off the restart, as Bartosz Bosacki nodded a cross high.
In the 82nd minute, the Polish side had its best chance of the day to score. Bortosz Berescynski found space in the box and rifled an on-target shot across the face of goal that a fully extended Bill Gaudette poked away. In second half stoppage time, a Berescynski header went straight at Gaudette in the game’s final scoring opportunity.
New York plays Monday against Norway’s Stromsgodset IF before returning home Thursday. Then we should see Mac Kandji and rookie Tony Tchani added to the mix, making them even more athletic.
New York Red Bulls 1, Lech Poznan 0
January 28, 2010 – La Manga Resort; La Manga, Spain
Scoring Summary:
NY: Angel 1 (Hall 1) 42’
Disciplinary Summary:
NY: Ubiparipovic (caution) 32’
NY: Stammler (caution) 34’
New York Red Bulls (1-0-1) – Greg Sutton* (Bill Gaudette* 46’), Danleigh Borman (Austin da Luz 62’), Tim Ream (Mike Petke 46’), Frederic Jonnson*, Carlos Johnson (Andrew Boyens 46’), Jeremy Hall, Seth Stammler (Ernst Oebster 62’), Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Walter Garcia 62’), Dane Richards, Conor Chinn, Juan Pablo Angel (Irving Garcia 62’)
Lech Poznan (First Half) – Krzysztof Kotorowski (GK), Tomasz Bandrowski, Robert Lewandowski, Jan Zapotoka, Zlatko Tanevski, Bartosz Bosacki, Anderson Denyro Cueto Sanchez, Grzegorz Wojtkowiak, Sergei Krivets, Mateusz Mozdzen, Marcin Kaminiski
Lech Poznan (Second Half) – Jasmin Buric (GK), Mateusz Szalek, Zlatko Tanesvski, Ivan Djurdjevic, Luis Alfonso Henriquez Ledezma, Kamic Drygas, Dimitrije Injac, Stawomir Peszko, Mateusz Mozdzen, Semir Stillic, Bortosz Berescynski
* – Denotes Non-Roster Player
