Danny Cepero Debut

Who? To be honest, I had never heard of Danny Cepero until he started for the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, but what a debut. In addition to getting his first start, thanks to the stupidity of Jon Conway, who is now serving the first ever drug suspension in MLS history, Cepero got his first win AND scored the first ever goal for an MLS keeper.

Cepero replaced Conway when the latter suffered the first performance-enhancing drug suspension in MLS history. Cepero responded with the fist goal by a keeper in league history, an 80-yard score that sealed a 3-1 win over Columbus; and the Baldwin (L.I.) native didn't even see his landmark tally.

"I just put it in the general area with no intention of scoring. I just hit it up somewhere where my teammates could do something with it,'' Cepero said. "I didn't even know it went in. I had to ask Kevin (Goldthwaite) did that just go in? He said "yeah.' I said "Do I get credit for that.' He said "Absolutely."

The win for Cepero and the Red Bulls put them back in the playoff hunt. The Red Bulls are now tied with Kansas City at 39 Points (KC leads with a better goal difference) and if the season ended now, NY would be in teh playoffs. However, New York has one more game to play. At this stage, NY more or less controls their destiny, a win and they are in the playoffs. A draw might get them in to the playoffs with a little help. A loss and NY might get in, but they would need a lot of help.