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Jean Philippe Peguero score 2 goals as New York Red Bull defeated German Bayer Munich 4-2 in a friendly at Giants Stadium Last night

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It's a scoreline that might shock, but Red Bulls coach Mo Johnston cared more about the quality of his team's play than the final score. The Red Bulls beat Bayern Munich, 4-2 in front of 5,173 at Giants Stadium Saturday afternoon.

There won't be partying in the streets of Secaucus, but there is reason for optimism in Red Bull land.

"We're representing the league, first and foremost and it's always good when you play the likes of Bayern Munich," Red Bulls coach Mo Johnston said. "It's good for the guys and we scored some nice goals today."

One positive was the return of prodigal son Amado Guevara, who started as an attacking midfielder and played the entire 90 minutes -- one of four players to do so for the Red Bulls. The Honduran hasn't played since he defiantly walking off the field and watched the remainder of the game in the stands after being subbed out against Chicago May 13.

Guevara, the 2004 MLS MVP was fined $4,000 and left off the active 18-man roster for the Red Bulls next two games but he returned to training Thursday and was in the starting XI Saturday.

On the surface, it appears the Honduran has ironed out his differences with Johnston and his teammates, following a pair of meetings Saturday morning.

"We solved the problem and I think everything has come back to normal, it's OK," Guevara said through a translator. "I talked with my teammates and also with Mo, both. I think it was good words, they let me put behind everything that happened."

Johnston praised the effort of Guevara, who set up Edson Buddle in the 64th minute on a quick restart to tie the game at 2 and then scored on a penalty kick nine minutes later, after referee Alex Prus ruled Bixente Lizarazu handled Guevara's shot inside the box.

"You've seen Amado Guevera play for his team today, you've seen Amado Guevera go and link up with play, he was instrumental in Edson Buddle's goal, he stepped up and scored the PK," Johnston said. "For me, that's the Amado Guevara we know."

Another positive was the continued red-hot play of Jean Philippe Peguero, who scored two goals to up his ledger to six goals in five appearances. The Haitian scored a spectacular second goal 10 minutes from full time. He took a feed from second half substitute Joe Vide, turned and chipped George Niedermeier and then pushed the ball past goalkeeper Bernd Dreher to give the Red Bulls a 4-2 lead.

"I slipped back a little bit and I was waiting for that ball," Peguero said. "The defender come and I just chip it over. That was a good goal and I was excited."

Peguero leveled the game at 1 in the 52nd minute, taking the ball off his chest and beating Dreher low to his right from 16 yards.

"I've watched Peguero for the last three years, I knew he had something special," Johnston said. "You see the second goal he scored, it wouldn't surprise me if Bayern Munich were talking to him just now."

On the negative side, Johnston wasn't pleased with giving up two goals -- both by Peruvian Claudio Pizarro, the first coming in the ninth minute as a result of a gaffe by Tony Meola. Rainer Storhas crossed the ball to Jose Paolo Guerrero, whose low shot from the top of the 18-yard box was fumbled by Meola. The rebound bounced out to Pizarro, who turned and slotted the ball in the net.

Bayern's second goal came on a Pizarro set piece after Peter Canero fouled Stefan Furstner. Pizarro's blistering shot from 32 yards out deflected off Jon Conway's hand and the post before bouncing into the net.

"I'm more concerned about my defense," Johnston said. "Again we gave up two goals, we scored four good goals. It was a little bit disappointing on the free kick we gave away but it was a wonderful strike from Pizarro."

There would be no meltdown late in the second half against Bayern, partially because the German giants had little left in their gas tank in the final quarter hour and even less motivation to go all out.

They've already won their championship and the game against the Red Bulls was the only time they've stepped on a soccer field since coming to the United States. They've spent a few days relaxing in the South Beach sand, saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and caught the Yankees game last night.

"You have to take into account they're here, they won the championship, they're here to celebrate that but nobody likes to lose," Chris Henderson said. "For us, it's a time maybe to build some confidence."

And it was a chance for Johnston to experiment a bit. He started the game in a 4-4-2 formation, with Marvell Wynne wide on the right, Jeff Parke and Taylor Graham in the middle and Steve Jolley wide right in the back. With Guevara back in his attacking midfielder spot, Youri Djorkaeff played up front with Peguero in the first half.

Johnston went back to his preferred 3-5-2 in the second half, bringing on Conway for Meola, Canero for Graham, Buddle for Djorkaeff and Mark Lisi for Wynne. It was in this formation the Red Bulls scored four second half goals.

"We're looking to show the league that we can play, to show the other teams in the league that we can play," Johnston said. "Obviously on the whole, this is a young league and to have the likes of Bayern Munich come through and to win 4-2, there's a little bit of a respect factor there."

It is the second time the organization has beaten Bayern Munich. Three days after winning the European Cup, Bayern fell to the MetroStars, 2-0 at Giants Stadium May 26, 2001. The club extends their unbeaten streak in international friendlies to nine (6-0-3), dating back to Feb. 29, 2004.

A result in their next international match, an Aug. 12 meeting with European champions Barcelona, would be reason to party.

The Red Bulls return to MLS action June 3 at Kansas City.

Bayern Munich

Bernd Dreher; Markus Steinhofer, George Niedermeier, Rainer Storhas, Stefan Furstner; Roy Makaay, Chaudio Pizarro, Hasan Salihamidzic, Jose Paolo Guerrero; Andreas Ottl. Bixente Lizarazu.

New York Red Bulls

Tony Meola (Jon Conway-46); Marvell Wynne (Mark Lisi-46), Jeff Parke, Taylor Graham (Peter Canero-46), Steve Jolley; Seth Stammler, Danny O'Rourke (Jordan Cila-81), Amado Guevera, Chris Henderson (Joe Vide-74); Youri Djorkaeff (Edson Buddle-46), Jean Philippe Peguero (David Arvizu-84).

Goals

Bayern Munich -- Claudio Pizarro 9

New York -- Jean Philippe Peguero 52

Bayern Munich -- Claudio Pizarro 57

New York -- Edson Buddle (Amado Guevara) 64

New York -- Amado Guevara (penalty kick) 73

New York -- Jean Philippe Peguero (Joe Vide) 80

Discipline

Bayern Munich -- Hasan Salihamidzic (yellow card) 24

Bayern Munich -- George Niedermeier (yellow card) 48

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Sensational Peguero Leads Red Bulls Over Bayern Munich

Peguero, Guevara Difference Makers in 4-2 Victory

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (MNN) - After a sluggish first half, the New York Red Bulls turned it on to score four second half goals to defeat German Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munich 4-2 on Saturday afternoon in front of 5,173 spectators at Giants Stadium.

Before the game, Mo Johnston and Amado Guevara had a meeting to discuss Guevara's role with the club. Guevara had not appeared in a Red Bulls match since being subbed out of a league match against the Chicago Fire on May 13. "I had a meeting with Amado this morning. Amado wants to play for this club. He understands his role and as I said before there's no I in team. This is a team game; a team sport. I've got too many guys in there whom I don't want to let down just because of one player," Johnston said.

Guevara responded through a translator by saying, "I talked with my teammates and also with Mo; both. I think it was good words, they let me put behind everything that happened and I compromise myself more because that gesture from them to work more and more for the team."

Guevara has had some difficulty in recent weeks. "He told me again this morning he's had certain little difficulties along the road. He's had certain problems off the field, but hopefully they're behind him," Johnston explained.

With Amado Guevara in the starting lineup, the Red Bulls looked sluggish from the opening whistle playing in a 4-4-2 formation. A Bayern Munich team that included only a handful of starters were able to control possession in the opening minutes of the game and that possession paid off in the ninth minute.

Paolo Guerrero took a slow shot from the right side of the box that rolled to Red Bulls Goalkeeper Tony Meola. An unlucky bounce off the field turf caused Meola to botch the save and a loose ball ensued in the box. An opportunistic Claudio Pizzaro got to the ball before Meola and knocked it into the net to give the Bundesliga Champions a 1-0 lead.

The rest of the first half consisted of several half chances, but neither was able to put the ball into the back of the net. The Red Bulls best chance of the half came in the 37th minute when Jean Philippe Peguero sent in a long ball over the defenders to the far side of the box. Chris Henderson settled the ball and hit a diagonal shot just wide of the near post.

At halftime the Red Bulls made four changes and switched to a 3-5-2 formation. Tony Meola, Marvell Wynne, Taylor Graham, and Youri Djorkaeff left the game. Jon Conway, Peter Canero, Mark Lisi, and Edson Buddle entered the match for the Red Bulls. Whether it was a halftime pep talk, change in formation, or the substitutions, the Red Bulls looked like a completely different team in the second half. A team that Red Bull Owner Dietrich Mateschitz envisioned when the world renowned energy drink company purchased the team back in March.

In the 52nd minute Peguero chested down a loose hit by Bayern's Andreas Ottl. Peguero picked up the ball in the right side of the box and whipped a low volley into the far corner beating Bayern goalie Bernd Dreher to tie the match at one.

The resilient Bundesliga side retook the lead in the 57th minute after a highlight reel goal by Claudio Pizzaro. A foul committed by Canero led to a free kick attempt 30 yards from goal. Pizzaro ripped the shot to the upper left corner. Conway got a hand on it, but knocked the ball off the post and into the net.

In the 64th minute, Amado Guevara put his first footprint on the game. A foul on Bayern's Ottl led to a quick restart by Guevara. The Honduran International played a beautiful through ball from 28 yards out. Edson Buddle was able to beat the goalkeeper to the ball and slotted the ball into the lower right corner to tie the match at two. It was Buddle's first goal since scoring on opening day against DC United. Guevara's assist marks the first time he has figured on the score sheet since he scored the team's lone goal against Real Salt Lake on April 16.

The Red Bulls continued to pressure the German club and went ahead for good in the 73rd minute. Peguero played a nice pass to Guevara 25 yards from goal. Guevara one timed a shot that hit the hand of Bayern's Bixente Lizarazu. The Honduran International stepped up to the penalty spot and calmly slotted the ball into his favored lower left corner spot to give the Red Bulls their first lead of the match.

In a game chock full of beautiful goals, the best one didn't come until the end. In the 80th minute, the Red Bulls Joe Vide played a nice ball to Peguero in the box. Peguero chipped the ball over one Bayern defender Georg Niedermeier. He recollected the ball and hit it with the outside of his left foot inside the left post of the goal.

"I've watched Peguero for the last three years, I knew he had something special," Johnston said after the game. "You see the second goal he scored; it wouldn't surprise me if Bayern Munich were talking to him just now."

Bayern Munich defender Bixente Lizarazu said, "They have some good players including number 9 (Peguero) who played good. It must be great for this player as he plays in New York and it's a great town."

When the whistle blew, New York had earned its second straight victory over Bayern Munich. In May of 2001, New York defeated Munich 2-0 on goals by Clint Mathis and Alex Comas. It was also the club's ninth consecutive victory over an international opponent dating back a victory over Norwegian club FC Glimt at the 2004 La Manga Cup.

If the Red Bulls hope to extend that streak to double digits they will have to win their most difficult game in club history when they face European Champions FC Barcelona and World Player of the Year Ronaldinho in August.

Johnston believes the most important thing earned from this match is respect. "Probably a little bit of respect for the league. Were looking to show the other teams in the league that we can play. Obviously, this league as a whole is a young league and to have the likes of Bayern Munich come through here and obviously win 4-2, it's a little about respect back to them." .