HUNTSVILLE, AL (May 27, 2023) - New York Red Bulls II (5-2-3, 17 pts.) were able to grab three points on the road against Huntsville City FC (1-5-3 9 pts.) at Joe Davis Stadium. The win was the third consecutive for Red Bulls II after victories against New York City FC II and Inter Miami CF II.
Having secured a result in all three road matches previous to last night, New York was looking to continue their success away from home at the newly built Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville.
Both teams were playing direct from the opening whistle, which led to plenty of attacking chances. In the match’s opening minutes the two clubs traded chances in the final third, but New York was eventually able to strike first and open the scoring.
In the ninth minute, forward Oladayo Thomas found space on the right wing and carried the ball into the opposing end. Thomas played the ball into the middle where Ronald Donkor was making his run and the Ghanaian midfielder smashed the ball into roof of the net to take an early lead. The goal was Donkor’s first of the season and the assist from Thomas was his team-leading second of the year.
The lead would not last for long, with Huntsville being able to bring the match level in the 18th minute. After drawing a free kick on the left hand side of the New York box, Huntsville midfielder Tyler Freeman lined up to serve the ball in to a teammate. Freeman sent the ball in that took an eventual deflection off defender Chrisnovic N’sa and found the back of the net.
After both goals the chances were still coming for both clubs, but neither had anything to show for it going into halftime other than one goal a piece.
It was more of the same for the second half, as there was plenty of open play and offensive chances for both teams throughout. Substitutes for New York continued the press and maintained the energy in an attempt to grab the match winner.
In the 69th minute, substitute Ricardo Gorday made his way down the left wing and played a ball into Ibrahim Kasule who was making a run down the middle of the field. Kasule took a touch past the Huntsville defenders and goalkeeper, but was tripped up and drew his second penalty kick of the season. Kasule stepped up to take his own penalty, and buried it into the side netting to give New York the lead.
With the win, New York collected its third-straight victory and has earned a result in six of its last seven matches with a 5-1-1 record. This is the first three match win streak for New York since August of 2019. Red Bulls II are also still undefeated on the road this season, posting a 2-0-2 record in four matches played away from home.
New York has yet another quick turnaround on the road, facing Orlando City B at Oscecola Heritage Park on Monday, May 29th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET with coverage available on MLSNEXTPro.com, the New York Red Bulls app, and NewYorkRedBulls.com.
