It was never going to be easy for the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. Heading north to face the Montreal Impact and their perfect record, the Red Bulls lineup was depleted due to injury, fears about the artificial surface, and international duty. An early goal from Montreal's Marco Di Vaio proved the difference, as the Red Bulls suffered a 1-0 loss to drag their winless streak to four games.

FULL HIGHLIGHTS

THE GOOD

Luis Robles. Many had wondered if Robles' days as the starting goalkeeper were numbered given the recent signing of veteran MLS keeper Kevin Hartman. Robles' performance makes those discussions all the more complicated—five huge saves kept New York in this match. (And in fairness, the defense left him out to dry on the one goal of the match.)

Peguy Luyindula. The Frenchman, who just officially signed with New York this week after a long trial, was a pest in the box and lead New York's attack on the stat sheet with four attempts on goal. With some time (and perhaps service from Henry?), he may well be a strong backup addition to the attack.

Juninho. Full marks to the 38 year old Brazilian for playing a full 90 minutes on turf and creating some dangerous chances off of free kicks.

THE BAD

Missing Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill, and Jamison Olave. Four weeks into the season, we've heard it all before: Henry is past his prime, Cahill is invisible, Olave is slow and injury prone. But compared to last week's domination of DC United, the team couldn't control the game—and missing all three of these players was a part of that. Henry missed the game with an MCL sprain, Cahill with international duty for Australia, and Olave was surprisingly left off the gameday roster—perhaps to avoid injuring him on the turf.

Brandon Barklage earning a red card. Two tactical fouls inside of 10 minutes earned the young defender two consecutive yellow cards, and New York was forced to play the final 15 minutes down a man. There was no arguing either card—referee Chris Penso was well within his rights to award them. Barklage will miss next weekend's home stand against the Union.

Coach Mike Petke's unwillingness to make comments immediately following the game. Look, Mike, I get it—you're trying to keep your passions in check and you don't want to say something you'll regret. But your immediate response after every bad result can't be "I'll need to look at the tape before I comment". Let off the safety a bit—bring back the Petke who blasted the team after a week first half in Kansas City back in 2011.

THE UGLY

Marco Di Vaio ripping apart the defense. Di Vaio's diagonal runs onto through balls put New York in danger throughout the match. The Italian leads the league in offside calls, earning another six last night—but an attacker who plays that close to the trap is going to break through it and get looks on goal. The result could have been so much worse had Di Vaio not forgotten how to finish in the second half.

NY's scoreless streak crosses the four hour mark. It's been 253 game minutes since Eric Alexander scored against San Jose. Hard to win if you can't put the ball in the net.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Red Bulls return home to host the Philadelphia Union (2-1-0, 6 points, 4th in the Eastern Conference). Depending on who you ask, the Union are either a natural rival given long standing sports history between these two cities, or just another team in the league. No matter your perspective, the game feels like a must win for New York just to prove that they can in fact win. (The Union did not play in a league match this week.)

POST-MATCH REACTIONS

Coach Mike Petke on the match: "They have quality player and are very organized team. I thought for a large part of the game we were in control, but there is a reason why they are 4 and 0. We fell asleep a couple of times and they made us pay. We have four guys in the back, and they have one attacker, and they make us pay. That’s something we’ll have to go back and look at."

Midfielder Juninho on his performance: "The only positive for me tonight was that I played a full 90 minutes. After playing in Portland and getting injured, I finally felt good on the pitch despite the synthetic field. However, I still love playing this game despite my 38 years. It was a great pleasure to come to Montreal. It was my first time and I appreciated it even more because I got to speak French."

Forward Peguy Luyindula on returning to play: "It felt great to get back out there and play. I felt good today and I’m satisfied with my first game. I really like the team and we seem to have some chemistry on the pitch which I thought was visible out there today. We didn’t win, but I thought we played well."

Midfielder Dax McCarty on having a long-term perspective: "You have to. If this is any other league in the world, maybe it's a little worrisome. For us, I think we just stay positive and try to stay sharp in training. The past two games haven't been terrible performances, just been lacking a little bit of continuity in the final third. Just keep going—it's a long season, try to make the playoffs. Thirty more games to make it right."

Next Match: Saturday, March 30 3:30 PM, vs. Philadelphia Union (TV: NBC Sports)