It looks like the playoff magic the New York Red Bulls used to advance to the Eastern Conference Final is beginning to wear off. 

In the 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution to begin the two-leg series, both sides missed solid opportunities in front of goal. But it was the host Red Bulls who squandered the best chances of the match. 

Everything looked to be headed in the right direction for New York in the 27th minute, when Bradley Wright-Phillips cleaned up a Peguy Luyindula shot off the post to equalize the match at a goal apiece. Luyindula was praised for keeping the play alive, as he took a shot from the ground so Wright-Phillips could have the chance to hit the ball into the net. 

The lone goal scored by the Red Bulls would end up being one of the few attacking chances the team converted in front of the home crowd at Red Bull Arena. 

Wright-Phillips found himself in the spotlight again right before the halftime whistle. The Golden Boot winner had a terrific opportunity to hand the Red Bulls all of the momentum heading into the locker room. But instead of finishing off a Thierry Henry cross with ease, he headed the ball over the net. 

The Red Bulls, who outshot the visiting Revs 18-8, were in control for the early part of the second half. In the 52nd minute, Lloyd Sam had a golden opportunity to hand his side a 2-1 lead, but he also missed. 

New England keeper Bobby Shuttleworth saved the initial shot by Henry, but he produced a rebound that fell to Sam on the right side of the box. The English winger could have easily placed the ball into the right side of the net, but he sailed his shot high over the goal. 

With the chances not being finished, New York manager Mike Petke had to put Tim Cahill on to the pitch to try to find more of a spark in front of goal. Cahill entered the game for Eric Alexander, who did a terrific job shutting down Lee Nguyen for 76 minutes. 

Petke's move backfired immediately, as Cahill found his way into the book in the 77th minute for a challenge on Jermaine Jones. Eight minutes later, Nguyen was given a ton of space in the middle of the park to roam forward and create a late scoring chance. The Most Valuable Player candidate drove forward and started the move that created Jones' game-winning goal. 

If Alexander was still on the pitch, there is a good chance he would have contained Nguyen to stop the dangerous looking attack. But due to the missed chances and an early away goal scored by Teal Bunbury in the 17th minute, Petke had no choice but to bring on an extra attacker. 

Not only will the Red Bulls head to Gillette Stadium for Saturday's second leg down a goal on aggregate, they will do so without the services of Wright-Phillips. 

In the 60th minute, Wright-Phillips continued the tradition of boneheaded playoff bookings for New York after he fouled Shuttleworth before a goal-kick. A game after Roy Miller's costly high challenge late in the second half against D.C. earned the left-back a red card, Wright-Phillips made himself unavailable for the second leg with his idiotic mistake. 

As if New York didn't have an uphill challenge already, Henry usually doesn't start when his team plays on turf. Since joining Major League Soccer, Henry has played on the artificial surface on three occasions, per ESPN's Paul Carr. He has not played on the surface at Gillette Stadium. 

With New York on the verge of desperation mode entering the second leg, Henry must be present for the fourth-seeded Red Bulls. He may even have to lead the line with the prolific Wright-Phillips not eligible to play. 

Although New York is down just one goal on aggregate, the deficit seems insurmountable given the player-selection circumstances and away goals scored by the Revolution. 

If more than one of the seven shots on goal found a way past Shuttleworth, New York's chances of qualifying for MLS Cup might not have looked so bleak after the first leg. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

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New England Revolution were outplayed in Harrison, New Jersey, but bookended the first leg of their Eastern Conference final with goals from Teal Bunbury and Jermaine Jones en route to a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls.

Bradley Wright-Phillips notched the lone tally for the hosts, who will now go into the return match trailing on aggregate.

Referee Allen Chapman presented 10 yellow cards in what was a tempestuous afternoon at Red Bull Arena, and with his booking in the 60th minute, Wright-Phillips, who led Major League Soccer in goalscoring during the regular season, will be suspended for Saturday's showdown in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Overall, there were a handful of standout performances on Sunday as well as a few underwhelming displays, and over the following slideshow we'll look at examples from both categories.

Here are the individual winners and losers from this contest.

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New York 1-2 New England

Jermaine Jones gave New England a crucial advantage in the chase for the MLS Cup as his late winner left the New York Red Bulls to regret a host of wasted opportunities.

Teal Bunbury had given the visitors a 17th-minute lead at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey, but Bradley Wright-Phillips levelled 10 minutes later.

However, the New York striker and his team-mates were guilty of missing a number of chances to win the match before Jones slotted home an 85th-minute winner.

To add insult to injury, Wright-Phillips received a foolish yellow card for needlessly blocking New England goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth and will now miss the second leg at the Gillette Arena next weekend.

Jones almost gave the Revolution a fourth-minute lead with a powerful close-range header, but Luis Robles was able to palm the ball away.

At the other end of the field, Lloyd Sam broke clear and forced a good save from New England goalkeeper Shuttleworth.

Wright-Phillips was looking for a 16th-minute penalty, but Kelyn Rowe's challenge on the New York striker was deemed legal.

One minute later, though, New England went ahead. A Jones run to the right allowed Bunbury to pick up the ball, and he cut inside before curling a sweet strike beyond Robles.

A.J. Soares became the game's first caution for a foul on Wright-Phillips in the 23rd minute, but Henry's subsequent free-kick came to nothing.

Jones followed his team-mate into the referee's notebook three minutes later after an illegal challenge on Dax McCarty.

Moments later, New York were level. Peguy Luyindula broke forward and saw one shot blocked by Shuttleworth before hooking a second chance against the crossbar. But Wright-Phillips was alert to the loose ball and headed home the equaliser.

A superb ball over the top from Luyindula almost set up Wright-Phillips for a second New York goal, and Ibrahim Sekagya picked up a yellow card for a foul.

Wright-Phillips squandered a great chance to give New York the lead in first-half injury time when he headed over from close range after a great cross from Henry.

Scott Caldwell got himself into a dangerous position early in the second period but chose to play the ball wide with no team-mate arriving when he could have shot at goal.

Henry unleashed a 51st-minute drive at goal which Shuttleworth could only spill into the path of Sam, but the New York man could only fire the rebound into the side netting.

Wright-Phillips spurned another opportunity in the 59th minute after being played through by a clever Sam ball, but the New York forward's shot was straight at Shuttleworth, who pushed the effort away.

Shuttleworth was again the hero for New England when he blocked a McCarty close-range header from a Henry corner.

In the aftermath of that incident, Wright-Phillips was cautioned for blocking Shuttleworth's clearance, meaning he will miss the second leg of the semi-final next weekend.

An injury to Rowe forced New England into a change just after the hour mark, with Kevin Alston coming on to replace his team-mate.

New England missed their own glaring chance in the 72nd minute when Davies failed to get a foot to a cross from the right before Jones headed over the loose ball from just inches out.

New York brought on Tim Cahill for Eric Alexander in a bid to chase a first-leg win to take into the return game. Within seconds of entering the game, the former Everton forward was booked for a foul on Jones.

Jones was gifted a chance on goal by a poor Richard Eckersley header, but the USMNT international could not get the ball from out of his feet to set up a clear shot on goal.

Lee Nguyen joined the names in the notebook before Henry attempted to find Cahill with a chipped free-kick from distance.

With five minutes remaining, Nguyen broke clear and found Bunbury free to his right. Unselfishly, the first goalscorer crossed for Jones, who was arguably offside, to slot home.

New England will now go into the second leg as favourites to reach the MLS Cup final on Dec. 7, while New York must regroup after a disappointing home defeat.

Selected Player Ratings

Thierry Henry: B+

It was a low-key opening period for the former Arsenal and Barcelona striker, but he played his part in the equaliser.

Jermaine Jones: A

Jones was always busy in the first 45 minutes and played the key ball for Bunbury's opening goal. And his late winner was just reward for his performance.

Bradley Wright-Phillips: A-

Wright-Phillips was swift to see the possibilities to level the scores for New York in the opening half of the game. But he missed a glut of chances to give New York a decent lead before earning an unnecessary booking to rule himself out of the second leg.

What's Ahead

Both clubs are next in action on Saturday in the second leg of the semi-final at the Gillette Stadium in Boston.

Post-Match Reaction

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MLS Cup Playoffs—StubHub Center

LOS ANGELES GALAXY 1-0 SEATTLE SOUNDERS (52' Sarvas)

Aggregate: 1-0

Referee: Kevin Stott

Lineups

Los Angeles Galaxy: Penedo, DeLaGarza, Gonzalez, Meyer, Rogers, Ishizaki, Sarvas, Juninho, Donovan, Keane, Zardes

Seattle Sounders: Frei, Yedlin, Marshall, Scott, Gonzalez, Evans, Pineda, Azira, Pappa, Dempsey, Martins

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MLS Cup Playoffs—Red Bull Arena

NEW YORK RED BULLS 1-2 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (27' Wright-Phillips; 17' Bunbury, 86' Jones)

Aggregate: 1-2

Referee: Allen Chapman 

Lineups

New York Red Bulls: Robles, Eckersley, Olave, Sekagaya, Oyongo, McCarty, Alexander, Sam, Luyindula, Henry, Wright Phillips

New England Revolution: Shuttleworth, Tierney, Goncalves, Soares, Farrell, Caldwell, Jones, Rowe, Nguyen, Bunbury, Davies

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The Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders faced one another for the Supporters' Shield in the regular-season finale. Marco Pappa netted a brace late in the second half to give the Sounders a 2-0 win and the Shield in the process.

Now, the two teams meet again in the MLS Western Conference final.

“We were kind of hoping for this,” forward Alan Gordon told MLSSoccer.com. “It's going to be a good series, similar to what we saw a couple weeks back, and may the better team win.”

LA actually had a chance to claim the Shield at the StubHub Center in the penultimate regular-season match. However, they blew a 2-0 lead over the Sounders and drew 2-2.

This meeting between the league's two best sides is a dream matchup for the teams' supporters, the MLS offices and neutrals across North America. The Galaxy and Sounders had the best attacks in the regular season, and LA conceded the joint-fewest amount of goals.

The chance for the Galaxy to make up for a crushing defeat at CenturyLink Field is just one of the many enticing storylines surrounding the match.

Landon's Last Hurrah?

Landon Donovan could potentially play his last games in this two-legged affair. This phrase was uttered in the conference semifinals against Real Salt Lake, during which Donovan scored the first playoff hat-trick of his career.

RSL players and coaches claimed that they saw a confident, tireless and motivated Donovan during what could have been the final games of his long, successful career, per the official MLS website. 

'He’s got some fire in his belly, for sure,' said U.S. teammate Nick Rimando.

'He’s a player that has been special for quite some time. You could see he wants it bad.'

'Well, I guess he’s not done playing,' Kyle Beckerman told reporters.

'He didn’t want [Sunday] to be the end. He’s dangerous and, playing at his top level, is really hard to stop.'

LA will already be motivated to beat the Sounders for the draw that happened at the end of the regular season. The last thing that Seattle wants to face is a fired-up Landon Donovan.

Seattle Guns for That Elusive MLS Cup Appearance

This game isn't all about Donovan and the Galaxy. Seattle is trying to ward off some playoff demons that have haunted it since its MLS inception in 2009.

The Sounders have never participated in an MLS Cup, and this is their best chance to finally accomplish that feat, but they first have to defeat their toughest competition in the Western Conference.

Seattle has the edge in some categories. Firstly, it'll be playing the first leg of this series at the StubHub Center. The Sounders were able to nick a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium in the conference semifinals by shutting up shop and utilizing set pieces.

Very few teams were as consistent at scoring on set pieces as the Sounders during the regular season. Seattle recorded 16 goals through corners and free kicks, per WhoScored.com. Only Dallas (20) and Real Salt Lake (19) had more than the U.S. Open Cup champion this year.

LA scored 58 goals in open play, via WhoScored.com, and given the lack of pace in the center of Seattle's defense, it should have plenty of opportunities to build on that number. The Sounders managed to stop the bleeding at the StubHub Center, so head coach Sigi Schmid will have a plan to repeat that feat and get his team into the MLS Cup final.

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Major League Soccer kicks back into action this weekend with the first legs of the conference finals. 

Plenty of stars will take the pitch at the Red Bull Arena and the StubHub Center Sunday, but only a select few will be able to put their name in the spotlight. 

In our six bold predictions for the conference finals, we take a look at a few individuals on both sides of the ball who could have big games for their respective clubs. 

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The Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy will face each other for the third time in quick succession Sunday in the first leg of the Western Conference Final. 

Sigi Schmid's Sounders earned a road draw and a win at home to clinch the Supporters' Shield at the end of the regular season. But the Galaxy did dominate Seattle in the Pacific Northwest back in July. 

Everywhere you look on the pitch Sunday at StubHub Center, you will see one of the best players in Major League Soccer at their position. The spotlight will focus on Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Robbie Keane and Obafemi Martins to begin with. But as we saw with Marco Pappa in the regular season, anyone can steal the headlines. 

Here's a look at the key issues and managerial decisions that will decide the outcome of the first leg. 

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The two-legged MLS Eastern Conference Final begins Sunday afternoon at Red Bull Arena, as the fourth-seeded Red Bulls host No. 2 seed New England. 

New York bounced Sporting Kansas City and D.C. United from the MLS Cup playoffs to reach this stage, while the Revolution dispensed of Columbus easily in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Mike Petke's Red Bulls won both of the regular-season meetings between the two teams, the last of which came on August 2 at Red Bull Arena. 

Here's a look at the key issues and managerial decisions that will decide the result of the first leg. 

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This clip from our friends at Copa90 provides unique insight into the fan culture around MLS side Seattle Sounders.

Known for having some of the best supporters in the nation, the Sounders have created a culture all their own, as highlighted in this excellent film.

Find out more about Copa90 here.

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