Even Thierry Henry admits defense is what wins championships, and so far the Red Bulls’ has been leaky. That Achilles’ heel came back to haunt them last night, as they twice blew leads and settled for a disappointing 2-2 home draw with San Jose. And if they don’t fix it, it could come back to haunt them again come playoff time.
They continued their torrid scoring pace, with tallies from Kenny Cooper and Dax McCarty, the former tying Henry for the MLS lead. But they kept coughing up goals as well, allowing first-half equalizers by Rafael Baca and Chris Wondolowski, settling for a tie that had the taste of a defeat.
“No excuses. It’s enough now,’’ Henry said. “Every time, we concede goals. Sometimes the team doesn’t even mark players. You have to give credit to San Jose. We didn’t touch the ball in the second half. If any team deserved to win, it [was San Jose]. San Jose gave us a lesson in football today.
“You can say whatever you want, but you’ve got to work hard in some games. We’re not going to score three and four [goals] all the time, so you’ve got to win sometime one-nil, ugly game. You’ve got to be able to clinch it, especially at home.’’
The Red Bulls (3-2-1, 10 points) stay in second place in the East. But with 10 goals, and center back Wilman Conde and midfielder Teemu Tainio out another month, their defensive frailties may prove costly.
“We allowed them back in the game to tie it,’’ said Stephen Keel, who replaced Conde in the lineup. “It’s too soft back there. … We’re going to have to win one-nil, two-nil. That’s what championships teams do. That’s what we want to be. So we’ve got to start cleaning it up back there.’’
Keel is right. Not since infancy of the MLS, when defenses were porous and goals cheap, have teams been able to score their ways to titles. D.C. never ranked better than sixth-best in defense in winning three of the first four titles. Of the other 13 champs, most (seven) ranked first in fewest goals allowed, including L.A. last year.
Rookie goalkeeper Ryan Meara, forced into an MLS-high 21 saves coming into last night, had to make five more just to stave off a second-half barrage.
“Attacking-wise the first half is good. But it’s very easy to see our defense must improve,’’ coach Hans Backe said. “You could say the last three games have been quite OK, decent. But it has to be improved. We have to work with it.’’
