With all the excitement and anticipation for their defense of the Supporters' Shield, the New York Red Bulls collapsed in their season opener, dropping a 4-1 road result to the Vancouver Whitecaps thanks to repeated defensive mistakes. Bradley Wright-Phillips had the lone consolation goal.

FULL HIGHLIGHTS

THE GOOD

Lloyd Sam. The Englishman provided what felt like all of New York's creative spark on the night.

The consolation goal. Granted, it was more on Whitecaps' keeper David Ousted than any real piece of skill from Bradley Wright-Phillips, but any goal helps lessen the pain when you've allowed four goals.

THE BAD

Giving up dumb penalties. The opening goal - a penalty easily converted by Kenny Miller thanks to a Richard Eckersley handball - continues RBNY's trend from last season of needless defensive mistakes gifting goals. Last year's 10 penalties conceded was a league high, and while Robles can stop them, there's no reason to put your team in that position.

Breaking down further and further after each goal. The second goal, a laser from Sebastian Fernandez, came because the defense didn't close him down. The third, a chip over Robles from Kenny Miller, came because his defender lost him at midfield, giving him a free sprint on a long ball over the top. And the final goal saw Pedro Morales getting plenty of space right in the middle of the penalty box. The longer the match dragged on, the less the Red Bulls defense seemed capable of keeping it together.

A baffling substitution strategy. Defender Roy Miller for midfielder Jonny Steele? Bradley Wright-Phillips for Peguy Luyindula, instead of a tired Tim Cahill? Ruben Bover for a subpar Eric Alexander, but only with 5 minutes to play? We're still scratching our head about the roster strategy.

THE UGLY

Richard Eckersley. Welcome to NY, Richard. In a big market come big expectations. Giving up penalties, losing your man, and blowing offside traps may have been acceptable with Toronto FC, but doesn't fly with the Red Bulls fan base. Shape up quick, or you'll find yourself with the Team Goat title that no one has really owned since Rafa Marquez left.

The "field" at BC Place. The turf carpet at Vancouver barely qualifies as a playing surface. It's no wonder Henry and Olave sat the match out.

LOOKING AHEAD

It's on to the next, as players tend to say: the Red Bulls open at home on Saturday against the Colorado Rapids. The Rapids' offseason was most notable in that they didn't have a head coach; only on Saturday afternoon was Pablo Mastroeni moved from interim to full-time. Their fast and young offense will likely stretch New York's defense, especially if they come out like they did in Vancouver. But with a full lineup available - including Thierry Henry and Jamison Olave, who were both sorely missed in Vancouver - the Red Bulls have a solid chance to get their first points of the year.

POST-MATCH REACTIONS

Mike Petke on the approach to the game: "The wrong one and it's on me. I got it completely wrong so it comes down to me. What can I elaborate on? My game plan obviously was wrong. Elaborate? What do you want to elaborate on? The whole focus was for the first game, the whole preseason and the week leading up. And with the result, I got it wrong."

Lloyd Sam on the match: "I thought we had chances, but the first two goals, when you look at them, it kind of took a bit out of us. The first one seemed like a soft call because I didn't see it as a penalty. And the second one, it was a great strike. I mean we had chances, but just the timing of those both goals kind of messed us up. But we’ve got to defend better as a team though...I've seen us play worse and win games."

Forward Bradley Wright-Phillips on Vancouver: "Credit to them. I didn't think they were better than us. It was maybe our mistakes that caused the goals. I didn't think they were better than us, particularly in the first half. But that's how it goes, that's how football goes."

Not much to say after a performance like that, sometimes you get your ass kicked. Credit to Vancouver. No choice but to improve. #RBNY — Dax McCarty (@DaxMcCarty11) March 9, 2014 Nothin to say about that performance ain't never felt this bad bout how shit I played in 5 years! Back to hard work and grindin #WakeUpCall — jonny steele (@jonnysteele22) March 9, 2014

Next Match: Saturday, March 15th 4:00 PM, vs Colorado Rapids (TV: MSG)