Red Bulls fail to capitalize on strong effort

Nov 24, 2008 - 4:02 PM By Bill Bernardi PA SportsTicker Soccer Editor

In the end, Cinderella met her midnight - and it happened in a little over a New York minute.

The upstart New York Red Bulls were unsuccessful in their bid to pen a magical ending to their season.

Instead, that honor went to the Columbus Crew, who recorded the first MLS Cup title in franchise history with a 3-1 triumph over the Red Bulls on Sunday in the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

After New York forward John Wolyniec leveled the match in the 51st minute, Columbus defender Chad Marshall netted what proved to be the winning goal just two minutes later.

While the outcome was not desirable to Juan Carlos Osorio, the veteran coach could not find fault with the effort.

"If you really watch the game, we took the game to them and that's why I felt proud for my guys today that we competed against what is supposed to be the most consistent team in this league," Osorio said. "We matched them in the first half very well. We had a lot of the ball, better possession, we played better football and I think we were the better team."

With that said, the Crew still maintained a 1-0 advantage - courtesy of Alejandro Moreno's goal in the 31st minute.

"It's tough when you put that work in during the first half," Red Bulls defender Chris Leitch said. "If you're a neutral observer watching the first half, I'd bet money (you would) say we were the better team. That's the way we felt. We moved the ball well, created some chances, but unfortunately a lot of those chances weren't on goal."

And then Wolyniec gave his team a spark in the 51st minute.

Speedy midfielder Dane Richards evaded a bevy of defenders before slipping a through ball to Wolyniec, and the 31-year-old neatly tucked a shot past goalkeeper William Hesmer and inside the left post to tie the match at 1-1.

Euphoria grabbed hold of the Red Bulls as the underdogs had drawn even with the Crew, who claimed the Supporters' Shield after posting an impressive league-best 17-7-6 record in the regular season.

Unfortunately for the Red Bulls, euphoria didn't last long.

Marshall headed home League MVP and team captain Guillermo Barros Schelotto's corner kick to regain the lead for Columbus in the 53rd minute.

Osorio admitted that the Crew's quick strike was heartbreaking.

"We came out strong in the second half, got back in the game," Osorio said. "Then to give up a goal so soon off a corner was very disappointing. It was too easy."

Reinvigorated by the goal, Columbus kept control with aggressive play before doubling its advantage in the 82nd minute.

Once again, Schelotto supplied the honors - or service, as the case may be - when he lofted a high lob pass to defender Frankie Hejduk, who headed home an insurance tally to essentially put the match out of reach.

Sunday's second half provided a painful end to a magical season for the Red Bulls, who finished with a 10-11-9 record (and 1-8-6 record on the road). But with a little help from Columbus, the Red Bulls gained an invitation to the postseason party.

New York had a chance to clinch a postseason spot in its regular-season finale, but dropped an unimpressive 5-2 decision to Chicago. However, the Crew's 1-0 win over D.C. United delivered the fourth and final Western Conference playoff berth to the Red Bulls.

They upset the two-time reigning champion Houston Dynamo in the first round and advanced to the MLS Cup final with a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in last weekend's Western Conference final.

"I told the guys they played with passion and pride, and that's the only thing I ask for," Osorio said. "We made some technical mistakes, but at the end I think we won together, we lost together and today we lost a match that, at least in the first half, we should have been up instead of one down."