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New York wants to have fun against San Jose

Jul 1, 2011 - 9:48 PM Palo Alto, CA (Sports Network) - Red Bull New York midfielder Joel Lindpere admitted the club's woes are wearing on him, saying after last weekend's draw against the Chicago Fire, "It's not fun anymore."

New York settled for its sixth draw this season when it scored the first goal, 1-1 against Chicago, and had just one win in its 10 games in May and June. So, turning the calendar for a visit to San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday offers a chance to turn the page on the last two months.

"I think everyone understands now," Lindpere said, "that we cannot go on like this. For me, game day should be like a party, I want to have fun. ... I want to smile on the field."

The last time New York (5-3-9) played San Jose, Luke Rodgers scored two goals, Thierry Henry had a goal and an assist, and the Red Bulls rolled to a 3-0 win that started a three-game win streak.

But since that streak ended on May 7 against the Los Angeles Galaxy with a 1-1 draw, New York is just 1-2-7. With just 10 points out of a possible 30 during that stretch, New York let a lot of points slip away.

And although it beat San Jose earlier this season, it has not won at San Jose since the 2003 season. New York also sent Dwayne De Rosario on Monday to D.C. United for Dax McCarty and will have to adjust without him, and Rafael Marquez remains sidelined with a hamstring strain.

San Jose (5-5-5) plays its first home game away from Buck Shaw Stadium against New York, as Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif., hosts this week's match.

The Earthquakes have been in good form since early May, posting four wins and three draws in their last eight games. But San Jose settled for a 0-0 draw vs. Los Angeles last week, although it had a man advantage for 47 minutes.

And for those 47 minutes, L.A. had field player Mike Magee as its goalkeeper after Donovan Ricketts left with a fractured arm and backup Josh Saunders was sent off.

"We are disappointed that we didn't get the three points, especially playing a man up," San Jose coach Frank Yallop said.

San Jose failed to score in its second straight game, but did have 13 goals in its previous five games and welcomes Chris Wondolowski back from U.S. national team duty this weekend.

Add Wondolowski to the mix after last week, which included a first-half Yallop described as the "best soccer that we have played since the team came back in 2008," and San Jose might just make Lindpere unhappy for a little longer.