T-180 minutes to kickoff: Before I begin this play-by-play (and other miscellany) I wanted to note that I will be using "Red Bull New York" for the headlines, and score announcements in my pieces. Otherwise it will be "New York Red Bulls." They are, of course, one and the same, but I wanted to give you this heads-up as you read this piece.

T-170: Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy now enter the home stretch of the 2010 Major League Soccer campaign, and up next is a trip to the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey to take on Hans Backe's New York Red Bulls, a club that used to be called the New York/New Jersey MetroStars until the a company by the name of Red Bull GmbH showed up to purchase the club from the Anschutz Entertainment Groip in 2007.

T-160: A little history on the company. The co-founder of the company with a 49 percent stake is Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian entrepreneur who had the idea to introduce the drink to, and market it in Europe. Mateschitz was international marketing director for Blendax, a German toothpaste company, when he visited Thailand in 1982 and discovered that Krating Daeng (literally "red bull"), a Thai energy drink, helped to cure his jet lag.

T-150: Between 1984 and 1987, Mateschitz worked with TC Pharmaceutical (a Blendax licensee) to adapt Krating Daeng for European consumers. At the same time Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya, the owner of Krating Daeng, founded Red Bull GmbH; each investing $500,000 of savings and taking a 49 percent stake in the new company. They gave the remaining two percent to Chaleo's son Chalerm, but it was agreed that Mateschitz would run the company. That left the Thais as silent partners.

Red Bull GmbH launched the “Austrian” version of Red Bull in 1987, which is carbonated and not as sweet as the original Thai recipe. It is the Austrian formula that has taken almost half of the U.S. market for energy drinks, and up to 80 percent of the market in some other countries.

In 2006, Forbes Magazine listed Chaleo as being the 292nd richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of over $2.5 billion while Mateschitz was listed at number 317.

T-140: And now it's time for a little discussion on the new stadium in Harrison, the Red Bull Arena. Erected in March 2010, this stadium has has 25,000 seats, all covered by a translucent roof that is intended to protect fans from rain. When the team was acquired from AEG, changes to the stadium's original design were made and after further disagreements with AEG, Red Bull opted out of the plan to construct a stage in the stadium for performances.

T-130: Construction of Red Bull Park began in late December 2007 with an undetermined 2009 completion date. The updated design was completed by Rossetti architects from Los Angeles and was built by New Jersey-based Hunter Roberts Construction Group, LLC. The new design featured a roof extending just past the field's touchlines with 60 feet (18 m) of the roof being translucent to allow for natural light. The first row of seating is approximately 21 feet (6.4 m) from the touchlines.

Red Bull Arena's design is on par with those of soccer stadiums around the world. It looks similar to the Hypo-Arena in Klagenfurt, Austria in appearance. The stadium has 30 luxury suites and 1,000 premium seats.

For your information, there is another Red Bull Arena, located in Salzburg, the home of Red Bull Salzburg (owned of course by Red Bull GmbH).

T-120: Two hours to kickoff here in Harrison and not a single empty seat can be seen in the house. It's a sellout. Line-ups!

LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Manager: Bruce Arena

Formation: 4-4-2 Diamond

Colors: Dark blue tops with gold accents, dark blue shorts, dark blue socks

1 Donovan Ricketts

28 Sean Franklin ---- 4 Omar Gonzalez ---- 16 Gregg Berhalter ---- 20 A.J. De La Garza

11 Chris Birchall

26 Michael Stephens ---- 10 Landon Donovan (C)

19 Juninho

17 Tristan Bowen ---- 14 Edson Buddle

Substitutes:

12 John Saunders GK

2 Todd Dunivant DEF

22 Leonardo DEF

88 Alex Cazumba DEF

8 Dema Kovalenko MID

9 Jovan Kirovski MID

27 Bryan Jordan FWD

RED BULL NEW YORK

Manager: Hans Backe

Formation: 4-1-3-2

Colors: White tops with Red Bull logo and red accents, red shorts, white socks

18 Bouna Coundoul

3 Chris Albright ---- 44 Carlos Mendes ---- 5 Tim Ream ---- 7 Roy Miller

4 Rafael Marquez

19 Dane Richards ---- 23 Tony Tchani ---- 20 Joel Lindpere

14 Thierry Henry ---- 9 Juan Pablo Angel (C)

Substitutes:

24 Greg Sutton GK

6 Seth Stammler DEF

11 Danleigh Borman DEF

12 Mike Petke DEF

8 Sinisa Ubiparipovic MID

33 Carl Robinson MID

10 Macoumba Kandji FWD

T-60: In other action, FC Dallas defeated Philadelphia Union 3-1, Chicago Fire and the Red Bulls were locked in a scoreless draw, Seattle Sounders defeated Houston Dynamo 2-0, the Red Bulls defeated Toronto 1-0 and Philly tied Real Salt Lake 1-1.

T-50: Later today, D.C. United takes on FC Dallas, New England Revolution meets the Dynamo, RSL faces the Columbus Crew, the San Jose Earthquakes face the Kansas City Wizards and in the nightcap, Chivas USA takes on the Sounders.

T-30: 30 minutes to kickoff, and the fans continue to file in. Kobe Bryant is here. David Beckham is here. And several other personalities have stopped by the RBA.

T-15: The series is currently ties at 14-14-5.

T-10: I will concede that NYC has its share of gastropubs and youthful foodies of unbound spirit as well as bums, serial killers and drug dealers. Proportional capitalism, that.

T-5: Mark Geiger is officiating his 70th match today.

FIRST HALF START: 3:06 P.M. PT

1' - And we are underway.

2' - The Big Cat from Montego Bay, Donovan Ricketts, was out on international duty for Jamaica this past week. Of course, the likes of Donovan, Buddle, and Gonzalez were playing against Brazil earlier this week.

3' - Oooh, a dangeous chance came for the Red Bulls.

4' - Here is Thierry Henry, the man, the myth, the legend, resetting the next sequence. And now it's Juan Pablo Angel but he's offsides.

5' - The Galaxy are forced to retreat for their next sequence. Roy Miller with the awareness for New York.

6' - Here's Joel Lindpere. Doesn't amount to much, except for a Sean Franklin throw.

7' - And Donovan Ricketts will grab that one for a goal kick. Not sure why he is choosing to give it back to Bouna Coundoul. Must be one of his idiosyncrasies. That chance bounces off the crossbar.

8' - Interesting pass from Birchall. Edson Buddle is marked. Tony Tchani had to clamp down there. It's a corner for Landon Donovan.

9' - Offsides, Gregg Berhalter after the corner is cleared. Goal kick, Coundoul.

10' - This is A.J. De La Garza. Throw-in forces Juninho to reset the sequence.

11' - GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy! 14 Edson Buddle

There you go. Breakaway for Edson's 13th of the season. This will force the Red Bulls into a hole. Let's see what happens.

12' - There was a "Edson Buddle Day" in his hometown of New Rochelle, New York earlier this week. Well, they have to be liking this...unless they support the New York Red Bulls.

13' - Here's Dane Richards. That was a good run on the right side from the Great Dane, However, his pass to Henry amounted to nothing. Ambitious one-timer from Tristan Bowen. Sean Franklin should have done better controlling his touch.

14' - Here is Rafael Marquez. Settling the troops down will be a wise deicision on the part of the Mexican international.

15' - Now it's Lindpere and Marquez on the attack.

16' - What was that from Sean? Not sure where he was passing that to. Here comes New York again, but the Big Cat from Montego Bay is there.

17' - Foul on Edson Buddle, and it will be a free kick for Rafa Marquez. Juan Pablo Angel butchered that header. Goal kick Ricketts.

18' - Now here's New York on the attack, and Landon Donovan was marked. Unscrupulous touch from A.J. De La Garza becomes scrupulous. How about that.

19' - This is Michael Stephens with the pass to Franklin. The Red Bulls draw men to the back to give Coundoul a chance to reset the sequence.

20' - We are 20 minutes in, and it's 1-0 Los Angeles. Are the Galaxy playing on intimidation here? Hmmm. Trying to find Henry, but misses wide.

21' - Bouna Coundoul with a save on Stephens. He's gonna do his share of the dirty work tonight in Harrison.

22' - Mr. Beckham looks on with intentions. Bruce Arena is in the press box due to a viral infection. He was able to recover, but as a precaution...he is above the Jersey skyline tonight.

23' - Offsides, Dane Richards. Empire Supporters Club soaks up the atmosphere while assing to it.

24' - Chris Birchall continues to struggle with his touch. I still don't get why he is still starting. Header for Angel misses.

25' - The only way the Galaxy will have their passes broken up is if they take a chance downfield, as seen ion this minute. And now the Red Bulls go on the attack as Angel is fouled.

26' - Here's a free kick for Marquez. Buddle lets that one roll away for a goal kick to Mr. Ricketts.

27' - Edson and the gang have to win the possession battle to stand a chance here. So far so good, but the New York Red Bulls have been dishing out some nice looks themselves.

28' - Offsides, Michael Stephens. Goal kick, Bouna Coundoul. 28 in and it's 1-0 G's with the local supporters in pursuit of an equalizer.

29' - The game time temperature at Red Bull Arena is similar to that at the Home Depot Center. Marquez should have equalized there.

But back to the temperature. Usually, opposing teams would suffocate, but since this is near the evening, this accomodates to the Galaxy quite nicely.

30' - And so, as Chris Albright makes the throw-in, the G's play on their own terms. Here is Joel Lindpere, and Omar Gonzalez clears that for the Red Bulls' first corner, Marquez to take.

31' - Tristan Bowen with the initial clearance, Chris Birchall with something gone right for him for once.

32' - Juninho overpursues, and back come the Red Bulls. Here is Albright, with the pass to Richards. And Birchall got tackled hard.

33' - Hans Backe is off of his bench, and he's not getting carded for this. And Dave Sarachan is not a happy camper, either. Ahhh, the emotions of professional football that is not gridiron. Or rugby.

34' - Come on, Mark Geiger. I know this is your 70th game, and you want to mellow things down, but you gotta get some order here!

35' - Clint Mathis was also recognized prior to today's game. He did play for the Red Bulls prior to the Galaxy. Not so fast Thierry, says Donovan Ricketts.

36' - Awful first touch from BUddle, and Omar Gonzalez stops Juan Pablo Angel from succeeding on the transition.

37' - 37 minutes in and it's 1-0 Los Angeles. Coundoul with the goal kick. Shirt pull by Gonzalez results in a Juan Pablo Angel free kick.

38' - Misses wide left. The Big Cat from Montego Bay rides his luck.

39' - The Galaxy cannot settle for a 1-0 win. Consolidation is crucial. Not sure what Edson Buddle was doing on the transition but it's forced the Galaxy to retreat.

40' - Now it's the Red Bulls who are winning the possession war as we enter the 40th minute.

41' - Another throw-in for Albright. Turf proving to be a bit slippy, though Angel had something to do with that.

42' - By the way, the Galaxy do not have Alan Gordon on board; he has been picked up by Chivas. The View wishes Alan all the best. God speed, fellow Long Beach denizen. Goal kick, Ricketts after Angel was called offsides again.

43' - The fans are clamoring for an out-on-bounds but they won't get it. The Buddlevan Connection didn't amount to much, but the Galaxy get possession back.

44' - Getting close to first-half stoppage time, and it's still 1-0 LA. Arena was inducted on Tuesday in the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Congratulations, good sir. By the way, we can hear the walkie-talkie feedback. Turn it off, CSC Staff person, you.

45' - All right. How many minutes of stoppage do we got? Only one.

Handball, says Mark Geiger. Here's a free kick for Rafael Marquez.

45' + 1' - Off the crossbar, and Landon clears for the last corner of the half.

Bad luck has ensued for the New York Red Bulls this half as wel enter the break.

HALFTIME

Los Angeles Galaxy 1

Edson Buddle 11'

Red Bull New York 0

SECOND HALF START: 5:07 P.M. PT

46' - The second half begins. Here's Landon Donovan, and the first sequence from the G's is stopped. Sean Franklin with the delivery.

47' - And here is Dane Richards with the counter, with Chris Birchall marking him for a throw.

48' - Ricketts will grab that shot from Henry.

49' - And Henry is offsides. And Bruce Arena talked with the team at the half.

50' - And come on Edson. That's a makeable tap! Have mercy, Miss Percy! It's a goal kick for Bouna Coundoul. And Rickets gets another goal kick to continue the end-to-end action.

51' - How many more bullets will the Red Bulls dodge before they get their first big break? Tristan Bowen slipped on the delivery, but is otherwise all right.

52' - Here's Roy Miller looking to get the Red Bulls on track.

53' - I believe this is the only redeeming quality from Birchall: he can clear and he can dispossess. Actually, that was two as the offsides flag is raised.

54' - Seems so far the Galaxy are learning their lesson from the offsides trap so far. Foul on Juan Pablo Angel and Rickets had to go off his line to clear that chance.

55' - And it was a good thing he got the ball, and not the man. Otherwise, it's a straight red. Corner for Landon Donovan.

56' - A series of scrambles. Men falling on the pitch. And a great save from Bouna Coundoul. Best of the night. Some intense action on the Red Bulls end.

57' - Here's Henry, and now it will be a corner for the Red Bulls. Marquez to take. High. Over. And it would count for three in gridiron; not so much here; in fact it's nothing. Goal kick Ricketts.

58' - Bowen should have done better. Henry stymied again. A chance for Roy Miller is cleared.

59' - Some good defending by the Galaxy inside their own box, and the fans are accusing Geiger of bias.

Yellow card 9 Juan Pablo Angel

Red Bull New York

60' - Some arguments from Gregg Berhalter. Makes you wonder. Back come the Red Bulls on the attack. Sub time.

61' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN 18 Mike Magee

OUT 17 Tristan Bowen

62' - Sean Franklin with the dispossession of Joel Lindpere. Henry seems to be doing as little too much, with the tap on Gonzalez.

63' - Juan Pablo Angel will be walking on a thin line for the rest of the match. Offsides on the Colombian international.

64' - Los Angeles needs to get their second goal right now. Good stuff from the Red Bulls defense on Michael Stephens's opportunities.

65' - Roy Miller keeps that inbounds while Juninho is turned. And De La Garza is fouled on the Dane Richards elbow. Dame Richards, the same guy who arguably ended Preston Burpo's career with New England.

66' - Macoumba Kandji will be coming in shortly for the home side.

67' - In the meantime, back come the New York Red Bulls. And I'm not sure why Joel Lindpere chose to give that to Henry: he had space to get one past Ricketts.

68' - I'm not sure of anything, I don't think. But I am sure of this: the Los Angeles Galaxy are leading 1-0, and the New York Red Bulls are pushing for the equalizer.

69' - The positional minute, and it's a goal kick for Ricketts.

70' - Rafa Marquez is dispossessed. Seems to me that they are taking a page from the Islanders playbook in defending.

71' - Substitution Red Bull New York

IN 10 Macoumba Kandji

OUT 4 Rafael Marquez

Here comes Mac Kandji. Can we call him MacKandji for short? No, I fancy that's the same thing.

72' - Here's a Lindpere corner, and that should have gone in. I think Henry was in the way.

73' - Henry's right calf seems to be strained. Good defending.

74' - I think the backline is doing the job tonight. Still some more football to go, but right now, I can say that so far, so good. But let's see what happens from here.

Throw-in for Sean Franklin. No dice for Mike Magee.

75' - Red Bulls on the offensive. Here's Mac Kandji, and Mike Magee looks to counter. A possession sortie ensues, and here is Roy Miller. And that dubious from him.

76' - Yellow card 7 Roy Miller

Red Bull New York

77' - Edson Buddle almost was onsides. Haven't mastered the offside trap yet, it looks, but the G's are making strides.

78' - Dane Richards's pace is matched by A.J. De La Garza's dispossession. This is a corner for Lindpere.

79' - Edson keeps that inbounds, and that will be a throw-in.

Yellow card 4 Omar Gonzalez

Los Angeles Galaxy

80' - Dubious tackling from Omar, and this will be a free kick for the Red Bulls. Let's see what Juan Pablo Angel does. Handball by Juninho. Take two.

81' - Blocked. And Dane Richards butchers the second chance as Beckham sneaks a smug expression while the bad luck for the Red Bulls continues.

82' - Corner time for the Galaxy. Tony Tchani does the work. Landon Donovan should have done better on the crosses and follow-throughs.

83' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN 7 Chris Klein

OUT 11 Chris Birchall

84' - Bouna Coundoul wins that ball from Edson Buddle, and here comes New York.

Substitution Red Bull New York

IN 8 Sinisa Ubiparapovic

OUT 9 Juan Pablo Angel

85' - 85 minutes in, and it is still 1-0 Los Angeles. Carlos Mendez with the mark on Edson Buddle. He's done his part for the home side.

86' - Here is a corner for Joel Lindpere. Michael Stephens clears. Mike Magee wonders why Mendes didn't get carded for that professional foul.

87' - Getting close to stoppage time, and it's still 1-0 to the G's.

88' - Sean Franklin with the throw-in. Omar Gonzalez cuts out the chance from Sinisa Ubiparapovic.

89' - And where the heck was he shooting that to? Juninho is down, and Bruce Arena looks on in disbelief. A streaker enters the Red Bull Arena. Allez! Ola! Ole! Hogtie that boy Alabammy style will ye!

90' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN 9 Jovan Kirovski

OUT 19 Juninho

Juninho is okay, though, and returns to the bench.

90' + 1' - Four minutes of stoppage time. Donovan Rickets eliminated the initial chance from Ubiparapovic. (That's a fun name to say: Sinisa Ubiparapovic.)

What a save from Bouna Coundoul. He's made things difficult for the Galaxy attack.

90' + 2'- Here is a corner for Landon Donovan, which is taken short for a goal kick.

90' + 3' - Carlos Mendez has been a beast in the backfield, and here he is again.

90' + 4' - Dane Richards won't get to that one. Goal kick Ricketts. And here is one more chance for the Red Bulls, and that won't work. The Galaxy are back online!

FINAL

LOS ANGELES GALAXY 1

Edson Buddle 11'

RED BULL NEW YORK 0

Stay tuned for my take on this match on the View from Victoria Street and on Bleacher Report.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

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