Bulls leave tie with bad blood
It’s a playoff trailer. With accusations of foul play combatted with wide-open, end-to-end soccer, the Red Bulls followed up last week’s impressive playoff-clinching performance against another playoff foe, tying Atlanta United 0-0 in a postseason-like atmosphere Sunday at Red Bull Arena.
The sixth-place Red Bulls clinched their eighth straight playoff berth last week against the Whitecaps, but if the MLS postseason started Monday, they would face third-seeded Atlanta in the knockout round.
If these teams do play each other for a third time this season, now there’s bad blood after Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch accused Atlanta headman Tata Martino of ordering his players to attack Red Bulls’ players.
“The shame is that [Atlanta] decided that they wanted to kick us almost every time,” Marsch fumed after Atlanta out-fouled the Red Bulls 19-9. “The referee doesn’t want to hand out yellows [cards], so they’re allowed to kick [us] more. … I don’t think you should be able to come into a place and behave in that manner.”
“Atlanta fouls a lot. I think when things just break down, they foul,” Red Bulls captain Sacha Kljestan said. “I wish the refs would have handled that a little bit better.” Martino denied the accusation. Despite that, Atlanta was just as dangerous playing without their Miguel Almiron, their injured star playmaker, but it was the Red Bulls who out-hustled United and looked more like the better team.
Their back three of Aaron Long, Damien Perrinelle, and Michael Murillo handled Atlanta’s electric front trio of Josef Martinez, Hector Villalba and Yamil Asad, limiting the visitors to just nine shots.
Even though Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles made a dramatic save on an Asad header in the fifth minute, the early blip was the Red Bulls’ lone miscue as they pressed Atlanta high and clogged the central part of the field.
Although the Red Bulls flirted around Atlanta’s box, they were too passive on goal-scoring opportunities. Their best look happened right before halftime when midfielder Sacha Kljestan rocketed at shot off the post from 30 yards out.
While possession was nearly even at halftime, the Red Bulls dictated the pace of play in their final home game of the regular-season, holding 62 percent possession in the second half by marking Atlanta high up the field and funneling dangerous balls on both sides of the field.
The Red Bulls had three shots on target in the second half, but Atlanta keeper Brad Guzan made two dazzling saves.
First, Guzan waved Bradley Wright-Phillips’ point-blank toepoke over the net in the 63rd minute only to follow it by stuffing substitute Gonzalo Veron’s diving header 10 minutes later.