The game remains scoreless through the first half for the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United at Red Bull Arena. The game has been dominated in the first half by the Red Bulls, but they haven't been able to capitalize on any of their chances. United had the best chance of the half, and couldn't finish it, either.
New York Red Bulls Vs. D.C. United: Scoreless at the Half
D.C. almost got the go-ahead goal in the fourth minute of the game. Nick DeLeon sent a cross from the right directly in front of goal to Lionard Pajoy, who tried to backheel it past Luis Robles, but the Red Bulls' goalkeeper was able to save the shot. Had Pajoy been able to pull off the chance, he would have been hailed as a genius, but since it was saved, he faced criticism for trying to get too fancy with his shot.
Other than that, New York largely dominated for most of the half. Markus Holgersson had an open header off a Thierry Henry free kick in the 14th minute, but it went well wide of the near post. Kenny Cooper sent a tricky square pass to Dax McCarty in the 19th minute, but Bill Hamid was able to stop McCarty's shot. And a scramble in United's box in the 28th minute saw the Red Bulls take several shots, including two by Henry that were blocked, a penalty kick shout for a suspected handball by Dejan Jakovic, and a shot by Joel Lindpere that beat all of D.C. but managed to roll inches wide of the far post.
The pace of the game so far has been frenetic, and both teams have lacked composure in the final third. Will this game finish in regular time, or will the series need to be decided in extra time or penalty kicks? That remains to be seen.
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