ASN photographer Scott Marsh was at the New York Red Bulls 3-0 US Open Cup preliminary round win over the New England Revolution May 12 at Red Bull Arena.

A few of our favorite shots follow, complete with snarky commentary (by ASN). The full set can be viewed on our Facebook page. If you’re already a fan of our’s on Facebook go directly to the gallery here.

All photos ©Scott Marsh / ASN

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New York Red Bulls rookie Juan Agudelo has been named to the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team for the Cor Groenewegan Tournament in the Netherlands. The tournament is from May 14 to 25 but Agudelo may have to depart the team earlier for training camp.

U.S. head coach Thomas Rongen will bring 20 players to his native Holland for the competition, which will include four international matches. The 20 American players are based in eight different countries, including four who play in Major League Soccer: besides Agudelo these are the Philadelphia Union’s Jack McInerney and Amobi Okugo and Chivas USA’s Cesar Zamora.

Read more about this at ASN’s USMNT page.

Or discuss Agudelo here or in our forum. The Red Bulls Academy product hasn’t figured in any first-team matches, though he did start the team’s U.S. Open Cup victory over Philadelphia. ASN gave him a “6” rating for these efforts.

ASN photographer Scott Marsh was at the New York Red Bulls 2-1 US Open Cup preliminary round win over Philadelphia Union April 27 at Red Bull Arena.

A few of our favorite shots follow, complete with snarky commentary (by ASN). The full set can be viewed on our Facebook page. If you’re already a fan of our’s on Facebook go directly to the gallery here.

All photos ©Scott Marsh / ASN

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ASN spoke severeal Red Bulls players after Tuesday’s US Open Cup win over Philadelphia Union. Here are their reactions:

Chris Albright
On his injury status: “This was sort of my litmus test, so to speak, to see where I’m at. I felt pretty good.”

On the Bulls “JV” team defeating a Union side made up mainly of first-teamers:
“I was talking to one of the guys on New England today who I’m friends with and I was telling him the lineup. He said ‘you know there’s six, seven, eight guys that would be starters on other teams right now.’ So I think that kind of speaks for our depth. The way this league is set up with so many games and open cups and friendlies and stuff, you need to have guys ready to step in and spell the first team guys and push the first team guys. So it’s a good situation.”

Tony Tchani
On his pre-match prediction that the Red Bulls would defeat the Union five times out of five if it came to that:
“I didn’t say I was sure. I said ‘I think’. If we played them five times, we would win five times. I didn’t say ‘I was sure.'”

Did he still think so?
“I think so. I think.”

Juan Agudelo:
“I felt I did pretty well but as a forward I feel like I had to score…I was making the runs but I wasn’t given that chance. Sometimes you have to get lucky some games and I understand that.”

“In practice I had like an incident where the goalie, 50/50, and the goalie knee’d my stomach and I went to the hospital this morning to check if anything was serious but it wasn’t that serious, just really bad bruising.”

“I think we could have scored about six. You gotta get lucky some times. I had a shot and it was going in but out of nowhere some defender from Philadelphia blocked it. I was sure it was going in but it was just a matter of luck sometimes.”

Conor Chinn:
“We all have a good understanding of how we play because we’ve played a good amount of reserve games. We play in practice, we play with the first team. It’s not like segregated or anything like that.”

“I scored two goals which is good but I had numerous opportunities that I should have put…the team got the win, which I’m very happy about.”

“Coulda, shoulda, woulda. I’m just happy with my two [goals] right now but you gotta keep pushing for more every game.”

“It feels good to score in front of the fans. I think they’ve been waiting to see me so it’s good that I was able to have a good performance tonight.”

New York Red Bulls rookie Conor Chinn has reasons to smile. Two of them, in fact, for the number of goals he scored for his team in Tuesday night’s frigid US Open Cup play-in game against the Philadelphia Union at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls fielded a squad made up almost entirely of second-stringers, but still dominated the match against the Union, who played almost all starters. In the end the 2-1 scoreline did no justice to the team’s performance–probably its best of the season.

Enjoy this photo of Chinn celebrating one of his goals with teammate Andrew Boyens. Listen to Hans Backe’s postgame press conference, if you haven’t already or skip to the player ratings at the bottom of this page.

Player Ratings

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest.

Greg Sutton 5.5
Looked a bit stiff. And there was the goal, which he should have done more to prevent. Bouna Time will return.

Luke Sassano: 7
Played well. The assist was a thing of beauty. Easily the team’s best goal of the season. Clearly has skills. Also did well after being switched to centerback though there were one or two moments late in the match where he was caught flat footed.

Carlos Mendes: 5
Didn’t make any egregious mistakes but did not look at all comfortable out there. Didn’t move well. Clearly not match fit. Would expect him to be the first player cut at this point.

Andrew Boyens: 7
Solid. Didn’t notice any crucial errors (but will probably need to see a replay of Sebastien Le Toux’ goal to be sure. Seemed to move a little better than I remember.

Danleigh Borman: 7.5
Shut his side of the field down and also provided good service to the attack. Made some nice runs. A serviceable left midfielder or left back for sure.

Sinisa Ubiparipovic: 5
Yeah he got an assist on the second goal but it was Stammler and Sassano (and obviously Chinn) who did the heavy lifting. Did a few things right but more often than not seemed to be holding up the flow of the team’s passing game. Also blew what would have been a 3-on-1 in the second half and had several other chances go wanting.

Seth Stammler: 8.5
Provided leadership, poise and serenity to the team’s game. A pillar in defensive midfield and additionally a lynchpin for its attacks. This would have been a completely different game without him–and not in a good way. The man of the match. Now why isn’t he starting again?

Tony Tchani: 8
After a few nervous moments in the opening minutes he came on strong. Dominated the flow of the game at times. This is a guy who has size, strength, but also solid technical ability and vision to boot. A Jozy Altidore of the midfield–if he were five or six years younger. Even so, he could be a dominant player in MLS, perhaps even soon.

Brian Nielsen: 6.5
Had some nice moves in the early going but ran out of gas. Also got a bit sloppy and generally seems to lack creativity. Perhaps that is also due to not knowing his teammates well yet. Needs to get match fit. It’ll come.

Juan Agudelo: 6
Not a bad first start but would have liked to see more of him. Seemed tentative, which it turns out was due to a knock he picked up in practice. “A collision with the goalkeeper” that had him in the hospital for stomach tests Tuesday morning. Turns out it was just badly bruised. Showed excellent ball and body control though. Will be a special player someday. Kid’s only 17, remember.

Conor Chinn: 7
The weird thing about Chinn is he does not stand out for his pace or skill on the ball or even his size–just his ability to score goals. We saw this in the preseason. He simply has a nose for goal and is able to do what it takes, whether by hook or crook, to get the ball into the net. Both goals were examples of this: him making the run, getting himself in position, then seeing the play through. Of course he also missed plenty of chances too, particularly in the second half. Should have ended up with four or five goals.

Subs:
Albright: 8
Looked very solid at right back. Defended very well. Broke up plays and stayed in front of his man. In other words: all the stuff Jeremy Hall is unable to do. Looking forward to seeing him start the San Jose game next week.

Woly: 4
Looked a bit lost. Did nothing to contribute to the team’s attack and was tentative when he did have the ball. Perhaps still nursing injuries.

Da Luz: 4
That backheel was nice but otherwise disappointed. Didn’t even seem to keep his position. Misplayed several balls. It’s hard to come into a game cold but was expecting more from him.

Garcia: N/A
Kid has pace though. Could be a good player some day.

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Match Facts

Philadelphia Union at New York Red Bulls, April 27, 2009
Lamar Hunt US Open play-in game

Scoring Summary
NY — Conor Chinn (unassisted) 16
NY — Conor Chinn (Sassano, Ubiparipovic) 41
PHI — Sébastien Le Toux (Arrieta) 68

Misconduct Summary
PHI — Jacobson (yellow card) 31
NY — Borman (yellow card) 66
NY — Boyens (yellow card) 81

Lineups
Philadelphia: Seitz, Salinas, Orozco, Califf, Stahl (Arrieta), Torres (Moreno), Jacobson, Okugo, Zimmerman (Miglioranizi), Mwanga, McInerney (Le Toux).

New York: Sutton, Sassano, Mendes (Albright), Boyens, Borman, Ubiparipovic (García), Stammler, Tchani, Nielsen (da Luz), Agudelo (Wolyniec), Chinn.

Attendance: 3,015

ASN was at the New York Red Bulls exhibition match against the St. John’s Red Storm on April 13. The Red Bulls won 3-0 on goals from Salou Ibrahim (penalty), Andrew Boyens and Conor Chinn. Red Bulls Reader has a proper recap of the match.

A few of our favorite photos follow, complete with snarky commentary (by ASN). The full set can be viewed on our Facebook page. If you’re already a fan of our’s on Facebook go directly to the gallery here.

no images were found

ASN photographer Scott Marsh was at the New York Red Bulls exhibition match at Army on March 29. The Red Bulls won 5-0 on goals from Conor Chinn and Irving Garcia (two each) and Juan Agudelo. Red Bulls Reader has a proper recap of the match.

A few of our favorite photos follow, complete with snarky commentary (by ASN). The full set can be viewed on our Facebook page. If you’re already a fan of our’s on Facebook go directly to the gallery here.

All photos ©Scott Marsh / ASN

no images were found

ASN photographer Scott Marsh was at the New York Red Bulls exhibition match at Army on March 29. The Red Bulls won 3-1 on goals from Juan Agudelo (2x) and Conor Chinn. Red Bulls Reader has a proper recap of the match along with video highlights.

Trialist Damani Ralph also saw substantial time in the match and assisted on Agudelo’s winning goal. A previous version of this post was unable to identify the 20-year old Jamaican, who last played for Russian champions Rubin Kazan. Ralph was the 2003 MLS rookie of the year after being drafted in the first round out of the University of Connecticut by the Chicago Fire. He has been capped 18 times by the Jamaican national team.

A few of our favorite photos follow, complete with snarky commentary (by ASN). Even more of these photos are on our Facebook page.

All photos ©Scott Marsh / ASN

no images were found

The “grand opening” of Red Bull Arena is still fresh in everybody’s mind but starting this weekend the games will count. There will be 14 opportunities to see the New York Red Bulls at home in MLS regular season action after this, but already a lot is riding on Saturday night’s match with the Chicago Fire. As great as the Santos match was, it will mean nothing if the team gets off to another bad start.

Chicago is not the ideal opponent for the team to face in this situation. The Red Bulls have lost their last five meetings with the Fire and have an overall 11-23-6 record against them (information supplied by Metrofanatic.com). However, this is a different team from the one the Red Bulls faced the last few years. Gone are Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chris Rolfe, Bakary Soumare and Jon Busch. New head coach Carlos de los Cobos brings an entirely different style from his predecessors Denis Hamlett and Juan Carlos Osorio. Expect the new Fire to aim for possession control and short passes. It won’t quite be the Osorio-style of bunkering (then again, what is?) but it will be conservative and defensive–especially playing in a packed house as the visiting team.

To counter this, Red Bull head coach Hans Backe will want speed on the flanks and more of the quick passing out of midfield that successfully sprung attacks against Santos. The last few days have brought good news on the injury front, with star striker Juan Pablo Angel telling Big Apple Soccer he was “hopeful” of a full recovery by Saturday. Dane Richards also returned to practice Thursday. The previous day, Carl Robinson tweeted that he had a “great day” of training and that things were “improving very well.” But he missed the following day because he was in Toronto sorting out visa issues (this also from his Tweets). We expect Robinson to start on the bench.

Update: Soccer by Ives and the New York Post are reporting Juan Agudelo has signed with the team as a “home grown” player. This makes Agudelo available for the match. We think he will start up top with Angel. Kandji, whom we had starting at that position previously, will start on the bench though there is a very real possibility he could start at left midfield. Meanwhile, Robinson remains stuck in Toronto with visa issues. This reinforces our suspicion that he will not be available tomorrow–or at least not as a starter after missing two days’ worth of training. These news items are reflected this in our projected starting lineup below.

———Angel——-Agudelo———
da Luz–Lindpere–Ubiparipovic–Richards
Miller—-Ream——Petke——Hall
———–Condoul—————

The need for speed on the flanks, along with Roy Miller’s unsatisfactory contribution to the team’s attack will push Austin da Luz into the starting lineup. We do not anticipate Macoumba Kandji will last for a starter much longer. As soon as either Ibrahim Salou or Juan Agudelo are signed and/or receive the proper visas, Kandji will be relegated to bench duty and spot starter status. In this role could also see some time at left midfield, where he started the second half of the Santos match. But for now, experience is in short supply so Kandji gets the nod. Backe does not seem to view the team’s most experienced forward, John Wolyniec, as anything other than an emergency starter. The Swedish coach could also start Conor Chinn, who has seen a lot of time and scored several goals in preseason (though not against Santos). If nothing else, Chinn should make the bench. So should Woly.

What do you think of this starting lineup? Do you like Austin da Luz as the starting left midfielder? Post your thoughts on these and other matters in the comment area below.

Major League Soccer’s new collective bargaining agreement, agreed to in principle Saturday, will reportedly cap roster sizes at 20 senior and four developmental squad players. Which of course begs the question who the New York Red Bulls will cut by 5pm, March 24, the new roster compliance date?

The team’s squad as presently constituted includes 25 players believed to be healthy or close to it:
Goalkeepers (2): Bouna Condoul, Greg Sutton
Defenders (6): Roy Miller, Tim Ream*, Mike Petke, Jeremy Hall, Andrew Boyens, Carlos Mendes
Midfielders (11): Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Joel Lindpere, Carl Robinson, Dane Richards, Luke Sassano, Austin da Luz*, Seth Stammler, Irving Garcia*, Ernst Oebster, Tony Tchani*, Danleigh Borman
Forwards (6): Juan Pablo Angel, Macoumba Kandji, Ibrahim Salou, Conor Chinn*, John Wolyniec, Juan Agudelo**

The following players are injured:
Kevin Goldthwaite, Chris Albright (both defenders), Giorgi Chirgadze** (forward).

*possible developmental squad player
**probable “homegrown” player

Update: The Washington Post has confirmed up to two “homegrown” players will not count toward the roster limit.

This leaves the status of injured player as the last significant question. The Red Bulls official roster less two homegrown spots stands at 23 healthy players and three injureds. If one injured player is permitted as an exemption against the roster cap, it puts the team’s roster size at 25. If no injured players are permitted it means the Red Bulls have 26 players, or two more than permitted.

If you’re looking for obvious candidates to be cut, look no further than Carlos Mendes and Ernst Oebster, who have had only limited (at best) involvement in the team’s preseason games.