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Red Bulls to be without Angel versus United

Red Bull New York enters the second game of a five-game homestand Sunday when it hosts D.C. United in a Major League Soccer fixture.

It will be the second meeting between the Eastern Conference rivals - who are tied with 24 points although D.C. has a game in hand - after United captured a 4-2 victory over New York on June 10 at RFK Stadium. Both teams are coming off disappointing efforts in their last league fixtures, with D.C. blowing a 3-0 lead to earn a draw with Dallas, while New York fell to New England 1-0.

"We're an experienced team; we shouldn't play like that," D.C. head coach Tom Soehn said after the Dallas fixture last Saturday. "We played like young kids. We put ourselves in too many situations where we were setting ourselves up to fail instead of getting organized and compacting. A few guys didn't have good performances."

"We just got comfortable I think with 3-0, and we've got to give them credit they never stopped working and never stopped believing," D.C. forward Jaime Moreno said. "They came at us and we just totally lacked concentration and that can happen."

Despite the outcome of his team's game, New York head coach Bruce Arena had a more positive take on New York's performance last Saturday.

"Best we played in a long time," he said. "We played against a very good team that has experienced players in every position and a little bit better than the team we put out on the field tonight. It's a game where both teams had good chances in the first half. In the end their experience made a difference on the day. For the most part, I think we gave a great effort for 90 minutes."

New York will get a boost offensively with the return of young striker Jozy Altidore, who missed the previous four contests with the U.S. U-20 National Team at the World Cup.

"We will have to see what he looks like once he gets back," Arena said. "It will be nice to get him back, but we will just have to wait and see."

"He has done a great job for the national team in the U-20 World Cup," New York striker Juan Pablo Angel said of Altidore. "I am sure he will come here with a lot of confidence off that performance. Hopefully he will be a good addition again."

On the down side, the Red Bulls will be without 2007 MLS All-Star MVP Angel after he received a red card for elbowing fellow all-star and New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph in the face during Saturday's loss while the two were going up for a ball in the midfield.

"One thing that I will say is that I didn't have the intention to hit him," Angel said. "I went for the ball and didn't move my elbow at all. I didn't have the intention to hit his face at all. I am disappointed at the sendoff today but I am looking forward to coming back stronger from this."

Angel is currently third in the league in goal scoring with nine goals in 11 games, behind Kansas City striker Eddie Johnson and D.C. forward Luciano Emilio, who both have 10.

Emilio's scoring along with the recent play of midfielders Fred, Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez and forward Moreno are a big reason why United has just two losses in its last 12 games.

For D.C. to be successful in New York, the backline is going to be key. Players like Greg Vanney, Devon McTavish, Josh Gros and Bobby Boswell are going to have to do a better job than they did in the second half against Dallas.

"It's very disappointing, obviously and when we have so many games on the road recently and coming up in the future we need to take advantage of being at home," D.C. midfielder Brian Carroll said. "A tie is not the end of the world but it's certainly disappointing being at home and going up and then giving it up. It's going be a tough pill to swallow and we're going to have to wash out the taste and figure out exactly what went wrong besides the lack of possession - and just letting it be too easy for some of their guys going forward."

After Sunday's fixture United's schedule doesn't get any easier with a game at New England Aug. 5, before hosting David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy Aug. 9. New York plays next against CD Chivas USA on Thursday before hosting Toronto on Aug. 11.