Who did in fact play down to the level of who in Red Bull Arena? The United were down a good 7 players to injury etc., yet New York was unable to take advantage of that. An anemic offense with a massive vacum without BWP again showed it ugly head, the defense did a decent job on an overmatched opponent, right up until the very end + extra time, again, that must be something mental. A loss of concentration, lower focus due to the game being just about over, I cannot say what, but you do not play well enough for 90+ minutes then forget how and give up a goal. Meara was unable to steer the sole goal wide, but rather down and in it went, yes 2 players were offside, but they had no impact on the play for the less than a second they were there as per the call of the ref despite their being very near to him. There were all too many errant passes made throughout the game from start to finish all over the field. It was really anyones game to lose, yes they were both playing that poorly, not getting bodies between the opponent and the ball, leaving players open at times, I caught a lot more of the game shooting from the 3rd Ward than I would from the touchline or endline. The youth movement of the last game had a better result facing a better side, Mines was a standout for me in the game, considering his youth and lack of playing time, he combined well with the others, held the ball and did well enough defending. If it worked, why change it, even if to change it back to what it had been, if what it had been was working you never would have seen so many different players out there.
It was very odd to be in the all but empty stadium, there may not have been 10 other photographers, I have no idea on writers. The areas that were tarped off looked far better than did those that were not, the bright green needs to go unless it was being used as a green screen for ads etc. I was very near a speaker, no idea how many are mounted from the upper bowl and it was both very loud and annoying as it was repetitive crowd noise, I was hoping to hear all the interactions from the field. I was more than a bit anxious as I made the trek in from Long Island, but there were few on the trains, and I must have had 100 feet of so between me and any others during the game. I did not even go to the photo work area, just to keep my space from all others as best I could, the outdoor stairs were more than welcome to not be in the same air as others inside. Hoping to be back at it this weekend as they take on the improved Philadelphia Union.