New Jersey/NYC, Part 2: The match

The match seemed to be a quick one. Our defensive woes within the 10th minute continued in Harrison, with Mehdi Balouchy scoring in the 9th minute to give RBNY a 1-0 lead. Andres Mendoza missed two of the easiest chances that I have seen a professional be presented with. His effort justifying the label that Crew nation has applied to him. How do you not put those in the net? To add to his mystique, after his blown attempt at a header he puts his hands up in the air as if it's not his fault, but the fault of the creative and accurate service from Eddie Gaven.

Lackluster play from both sides entertained us through the 90th before Rich Balchan jolted us to life in the 91st, equalizing the match at 1-1. Columbus ultimately crept out of Red Bull Arena with the 1-1 result. While both teams struggled on the field, there is still a larger picture to consider. It has been thought that New York and LA are the clubs that will easily sprint the entire race and meet up in the final, however New York looked tired uninspired. Figure that in along with their recent trend of earning 1 point in matches and it's clear to see that RBNY might not be the club that many have thought them to be.

The Crew should take more from this match than what was seen on the pitch. I think the race for the East just eased up on us. A little.

Afterwards a number of us made a trip down to Times Square where we grabbed some awesome burgers at Connolly's Pub, antagonized cab drivers, and sang loud and proud about somebody stealing our sombrero. After one of the more crazy and expensive cab rides in my life ($78), we returned back to the Hampton Inn. All there was left to do was crash. Crash as hard as we could for four hours before stepping back onto the bus.

Mendoza is trash. Glad to see these quotes from RW.

Brian Bliss on the matter:

"Between him and the coach, his teammates and the fan base, there seems to be incident around every corner he turns. How much can you put up with for the quality he brings? Somewhere there is a tipping point. I'm not sure where it is, but I'm sure we're getting close."

I plan on following Cunningham's advice and supporting Mendoza for the remainder of his time here, but I'd be lying if I said I'd be disappointed if he's let go after this season.