New York Red Bulls 1, Vancouver Whitecaps 2: MLS Match Recap

The Vancouver Whitecaps used a late Kenny Miller header to extend their unbeaten streak, and end that of the New York Red Bulls.

The Whitecaps rallied from a Greg Klazura own goal to hand the Red Bulls a 2-1 defeat at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. Jordan Harvey scored the equalizer shortly after Klazura’s 51st-minute own goal and Miller netted the winner seven minutes from the final whistle.

The result improves the Whitecaps to 4-4-4 and drops the Eastern Conference-leading Red Bulls to 7-5-4 on the year. It also gave New York their first loss since April 7 and extended Vancouver’s unbeaten run to four games in league play.

The Red Bulls were all over the Whitecaps from the outset, taking the game to the visitors and creating some half-chances that Vancouver goalkeeper Brad Knighton dealt with well.

OPTA Chalkboard: Whitecaps weather early storm, exploit late gaps vs. Red Bulls

Jonny Steele and Fabian Espindola had multiple opportunities to put New York out in front in the first half, but the Whitecaps defense held firm with physical play and did not break. That left Espindola, Thierry Henry and the rest of the Red Bulls’ attack visibly frustrated as they went into halftime without a goal.

The fruitless search for a goal for the hosts ended shortly after the intermission, as the Red Bulls jumped out in front when Klazura redirected a low cross from Jonny Steele into the back of his own net in the 51st minute. As if that wasn’t bad enough for Klazura, the right back had to be subbed off in favor of Lee Young-Pyo in the 57th minute because of an injury.

Lee, however, helped spark the Whitecaps’ rally. Seven minutes after New York opened the scoring, Eric Alexander poorly cleared a cross from Lee and Harvey pounced on the loose ball, rifling it home on the volley to pull Vancouver level.

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Things went from bad to worse for the Red Bulls in the 75th minute. Jamison Olave was given a second yellow card in controversial fashion for a late foul on Miller, leaving New York with 10 men for the duration of the game.

The Whitecaps offense perked up after Olave’s ejection, and the visitors struck for the winner in the 83rd as Miller beat Kosuke Kimura to a cross and headed the ball downward past Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles.

The Whitecaps next play Cascadia Cup rivals the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field on June 8. The Red Bulls, meanwhile, will enter a week-long break before returning to action against the New England Revolution on June 12 in a U.S. Open Cup match. New York then travel to face the Philadelphia Union in a league match at PPL Park on June 23.

MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match