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Wolyniec's goal gives Red Bulls draw with Revs

Sep 19, 2009 - 3:10 AM By JIM HAGUE STATS MLS Correspondent

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (STATS) - Although John Wolyniec scored a second-half goal that enabled the New York Red Bulls to gain a 1-all draw with their biggest nemesis, the New England Revolution, it was a call not made that was the topic of conversation.

About 20 minutes before Wolyniec scored his game-tying goal, he was involved in a highly controversial play. Wolyniec was pulled down hard from behind by New England defender Emmanuel Osei inside the penalty area, but referee Hilario Grajeda did not award a penalty kick and called for play to continue, despite Wolyniec writhing in pain.

"Yeah, I was pretty shocked it wasn 't called," Wolyniec said after the game, while standing on crutches - the result of a sprained ankle he suffered in a collision with Revolution defender Jay Heaps on the game-tying goal. "It's always a quick call, but it's just unfortunate the call didn't go our way."

Red Bulls interim coach Richie Williams asked Grajeda for a ruling on the play.

"He said he didn't have the right angle on the play," Williams said, repeating what Grajeda told him. "From what I saw, I thought it was a clear penalty. Calls like that are game changers. I was very disappointed by the call."

Grajeda told a pool reporter about what he saw.

"The original play, I had a clear view," Grajeda said to the pool reporter. "But when (Wolyniec) makes a second touch and moves the ball forward, I lose him at this point. At this point, I lose him between the two players. Does he get touched? Does he touch somebody else? That's my point of view, no? Obviously, I'm going to have to go back and review the tape."

The non-call didn't deter the Red Bulls (4-17-5), who continued to pressure the Revolution despite having their winless streak against them extended to 13 matches (0-7-6) - the longest in MLS history between two teams. New York hasn't beaten New England since a 5-4 victory Sept. 17, 2005, and is 2-11-10 versus the Revolution since 2003."I thought we had the better of the play in the second half," Williams said. "I thought we created chances. We just didn't finish."

The draw enabled the Revolution (9-8-7) to move into a tie for fourth place with Toronto FC in the Eastern Conference standings with 34 points, two out of the eighth and final playoff spot. New England has gotten one point in its last three matches after a three-match winning streak.

Playing in place of leading scorer and captain Juan Pablo Angel, who missed his second straight game with a sprained ankle, Wolyniec received a pass from Dane Richards in front and beat goalkeeper Matt Reis with a shot from the penalty area just as he collided with Heaps in the 69th minute.

"It was kind of a rough day for me," Wolyniec said. "I was trying to avoid Reis and when I landed, I rolled it pretty bad. I'm glad we were able to rebound from the call. In the past, we might have felt sorry for ourselves and let the game run out. I'm proud of the way we fought back and scored."

Wolyniec was replaced by Matthew Mbuta.

The Red Bulls had a golden opportunity in the closing minutes when Macoumba Kandji sneaked past the defensive line and broke free toward the goal, but his shot slid just wide to the left.

"The defender (Heaps) made a smart move and kept me off balance," Kandji said. "But there's no excuse. I should have finished that one."

New England scored in the 13th minute, when Sainey Nyassi stole the ball 35 yards from the goal, advanced unguarded along the right side and unfurled a right-footed blast from 15 yards that struck the upper right corner of the net. It was Nyassi's second goal of the season.