MLS Round-up: Red Bulls in seventh heaven against Villa & Pirlo, as the Rapids grind it out

Joe Bendik continues to prove his doubters wrong in the Sunshine state
When Joe Bendik signed for Orlando City, there was no fanfare. A second choice goalkeeper in his final season with Toronto FC, the Canadian club declined his option in December, allowing Orlando to engineer a trade.

What on the surface seemed a mediocre trade has quickly become a masterstroke by Adrian Heath, with Bendik consistently producing brilliant performances. Cyle Larin and Kaka may steal the headlines, as they did on Saturday against Montreal, but the duo were only able to be match-winners thanks to some strong work between the posts.

First able to divert Ambroise Oyongo’s deflected shot, he was on form again 30 seconds later to stop an equally devilish drive from Johan Venegas, “We had to rely on Joe on a few occasions, too much for my liking, but hey, we’ve got a win tonight,” coach Adrian Heath said afterwards.

Able to snatch a win late on thanks to Cyle Larin, the goal represented beautiful link up between Larin, Kaka and Julio Baptista. And while fans have never questioned their star forwards, Bendik has not been so lucky, as his Orlando career began rather inauspiciously. Early season performances against Chicago and Real Salt Lake only seemed to validate those concerns, but credit to Bendik he has done well to move past those worries and establish himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the league right now.

Thriving during what has been a difficult season for the Lions, Bendik has also confronted his critics in both a humble and diplomatic way, “All you can do is respect the person you’re taking the place of and be yourself, and I think that’s what I’ve tried to do here,” Bendik told the Orlando Sentinel earlier this season.

Given that actions speak louder than words, Bendik’s performances are doing all the talking for him. A reliable goalkeeper, Orlando owe as much to him as they do the big names for snapping their winless streak, and fans would be wise to remember that.

New York is still Red
On Saturday evening, the city of New York was painted red once again. Putting 7 goals past New York City FC, the New York Red Bulls confirmed that the city will remain red until at least July when the two sides next meet.

Conceding their first goal after 3 minutes, the hosts simply never recovered. Consistently undone with crosses into the box, it was through that avenue that Dax McCarty opened the scoring after 3 minutes. McCarty would add a second later on, with the 5 goals arriving via, Bradley Wright-Philips (2), Alex Muyl, Gonzalo Veron and Gideon Baah.

Consigning NYCFC to the worst defeat in their history, it also tied them with two other teams for the biggest losing margin in MLS history. A shoddy defensive performance, the fact that McCarty (the 2nd smallest man on the pitch) notched 2 headers was damming, with Vieira’s side failing to do even the very basics of defending correctly.

A win that will have damaged pride in the blue half of the city, that the Red Bulls were averaging a league-low 0.33 goals per game on the road going into this match will only serve as further salt to the wound. Meanwhile reaffirming the Red Bulls’ dominance over NYCFC, it took the team with the worst goal difference in the league and moved them up to the middle of the pack.

Analysing the game past the definitive scoreline, the home team unable to deal with the pace and energy of the Red Bulls even if Vieira attempted to stay positive, “The match in general was a disaster,” he said afterwards. “The message I want to send to the fans and the players is, don’t forget what you’ve been doing for the last few months.”

Admittedly though, he is right. NYCFC have improved compared to last year, and although they now have the 2nd worst goal difference in the Eastern Conference, they do sit ahead of the Red Bulls. Progress has been made, but in many ways Vieira’s side learned a harsh lesson here. Their team still does not play like one, and against an organised outfit they were steamrolled. Even the reemergence of Frank Lampard could not placate the home crowd, with fans choosing to boo and jeer the former Chelsea great.

A difficult introduction to the Hudson River Derby, Vieira must now pick his troops up. As for Jesse Marsch, the chance to bask in the warm glow of derby day spoils, “Fans will be able to tell their kids that they were at this game,” he said afterwards.

FC Dallas show there’s more to them than Mauro Diaz

So often this season the brilliance of Mauro Diaz has helped FC Dallas to record a win. However, with the Argentine absent, Oscar Pareja had to rely on the depth of his squad and it did not let him down.

Choosing to name a 4-4-2, Pareja’s men started brilliantly after Tesho Akindele converted a 5th minute penalty to give Dallas the lead. However, two quick goals from Juan Agudelo and Lee Nguyen handed the Revs the lead before Atiba Harris restored parity with 10 minutes of the first half remaining. Concluding, a frantic first half, the game settled in the second period as Dallas snatched control.

Taking the lead through Fabian Castillo, it was the Colombian’s first goal since mid-April. Latching onto a long ball, he calmly slotted the ball home after using his blistering pace to escape the Revs defence.

Then, with the final few seconds ticking away the points were wrapped up with Akindele’s second. Helping to cure the team of their road woes, it has been about building moment for Pareja and his team, “The last two weeks have been hard, just getting two results in a row means a lot for the group,” Pareja said recently. “You can imagine how hard it is to lift the group after three losses and a bunch of goals, eight goals. It’ll make us sleep better tonight for sure.”

An impressive performance from the Texans, it also served to highlight the team’s strength and depth. Typified by the fact Kellyn Acosta started the game on the bench before notching two assists, it would seem FC Dallas are set to once again fly under the MLS Cup radar. Whether they can show they’ve matured remains the biggest question surrounding Pareja’s young bucks, with or without Diaz on the field.

The Colorado Rapids are this year’s surprise package
In a season during which Louis van Gaal has clutched to his side’s defensive strength, the Colorado Rapids are proving the Dutchman may have a point about defence being the best from of attack.

The only team left in MLS with a single digit goals against column, Pablo Mastroeni’s side are quickly becoming the team no one wants to face, “Tonight the guys played probably one of the most courageous games of the year to this point,” Mastroeni said after their 1-0 win. “Seattle’s a great team, well-coached, a difficult place to play, turf, you could make a million excuses. They were sharp tonight.

Finding the net with their first attempt on target, it would be the only attempt the Rapids would register on the Sounders’ goal. Arriving via defender Axel Sjoberg, it was wonderfully fitting that it was a defender that helped the Rapids win, “It was just a good corner kick,” Sjoberg said. “I just got free and got my head on it.”

Pushing the Rapids to the top of a competitive Western Conference, the club is now also unbeaten in eight straight matches dating back to mid-April. Posting 5 clean sheets in that time, the win over Seattle also points to the club’s strength and depth. Forced to play without former Sounder Marco Pappa and Shkëlzen Gashi, it dented the Rapids attacking options somewhat.

Still able to record a win, things are starting to look very bright for the Rapids, and Mastroeni, with the Rapids coach caring little for style points, “Winning is winning,” Mastroeni said. “There’s not a bad win, right? That’s like saying, ‘I knocked the guy out, but it was a bad knockout.’ This is not a beauty contest. It’s about winning.”

A team that no one in MLS is eager to face at this precise moment, their success is founded on clear and simple principles, which will bode well for the rest of the season. A team undergoing a drastic turnaround, Mastroeni said Saturday he feels his team ‘fear nobody’, and that should scare a lot of teams.

Results Game Week 12

Friday

Philadelphia Union 1-0 D.C. United

Saturday

Toronto FC 0-0 Columbus Crew SC

New York City FC 0-7 (seven) New York Red Bulls

Seattle Sounders 0-1 Colorado Rapids

Chicago Fire 1-0 Houston Dynamo

Orlando City 2-1 Montreal Impact

Sporting KC 1-3 Real Salt Lake

New England Revolution 2-4 FC Dallas

Sunday

Portland Timbers 4-2 Vancouver Whitecaps

LA Galaxy 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes