HARRISON, NJ – Missing their head coach, the New York Red Bulls didn’t skip a beat en route to a convincing 4-1 win over the New England Revolution on Saturday night.
With Jesse Marsch serving a one-game suspension following his red card in Columbus last week, RBNY assistant coach Denis Hamlett manned the sidelines as an early goal-scoring barrage powered New York back into the win column.
After being deployed on the left wing in recent weeks, Bradley Wright-Phillips returned to his more customary role as a lone forward and the move paid near immediate dividends. The 2014 Golden Boot winner linked up with his countryman for the game’s first goal as Lloyd Sam’s cross found Wright-Phillips for a simple header in the fourth minute.
The early goal proved to be the first of three in a 12-minute span, as New York would continue to pile it on in the early stages.
The Red Bulls doubled their lead just four minutes later, as the two Englishmen once again combined to find the back of the net. An entry feed from Wright-Phillips found Mike Grella at the top of the New England penalty area, and a wide-open Sam was the beneficiary of the final ball as his shot to the far post beat goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth in the ninth minute.
New York would make it three soon after as Wright-Phillips earned his brace in the 12th minute. A flowing attack through the midfield started with midfielder Sacha Kljestan finding Dax McCarty. A first-time feed from McCarty put Wright-Phillips one-on-one with Shuttleworth as the chance was slotted away with ease.
The Revolution would get one back minutes before halftime, giving the 700 traveling New England supporters something to cheer about. 2014 MVP finalist Lee Nguyen wriggled free and sent in a dangerous ball across the RBNY goal mouth A deflection in front of goal wrong footed the New York defense, and midfielder Andy Dorman pounced to tap it by goalkeeper Luis Robles.
New England would continue to mount pressure in their comeback effort as the second half kicked off, but the Red Bulls managed to reclaim their three-goal cushion in the 56th minute. Making just his second start this season, defender Anthony Wallace put the exclamation point on a Red Bulls win as his deflected effort trickled its way past a helpless Shuttleworth, putting the result out of doubt.
In the dying minutes, Revolution captain Jose Goncalves was sent off with his second yellow card of the night after taking down RBNY midfielder Sal Zizzo in the area. But Zizzo’s ensuing penalty kick was saved to save New England further blushes.
Both teams return to action next Saturday as the Red Bulls hit the road for a first-ever meeting with Orlando City SC, while the Revolution return to Foxborough as they host New York City FC.
