TUCSON, AZ (Feb. 13, 2013) – New York fought back from two goals down with strikes from Jamison Olave and Michael Bustamante, as the Red Bulls remained unbeaten in 2013 preseason play with a 2-2 tie against Real Salt Lake in their first match of the Desert Diamond Cup at Kino Sports Complex. With the result, New York improved its preseason record to 2-0-1.
Despite dominating much of the play during the first half, Real Salt Lake scored two quick goals to start the game. Less than a minute in, Joao Plata ran onto a loose ball in New York’s defensive third and slid it past goalkeeper Santiago Castano and into the net. In the third minute, Cole Grossman doubled Real Salt Lake’s lead, knocking home a rebound after Castano did well to save a Plata shot.
However, the Red Bulls immediately put the pressure on the Western Conference side for the rest of the half and had several chances to score. New York defender Brandon Barklage forced Josh Saunders to parry away his blast in the 10th minute before the Real Salt Lake goalkeeper kept the Red Bulls off the board again later, blocking Lloyd Sam’s redirected attempt from close range.
The Red Bulls’ persistence paid off in the 30th minute with Olave scoring against his former club. Juninho’s poorly cleared corner kick fell to Olave in the six yard box and the defender hammered it in with his right foot. New York kept its foot on the pedal and midfielder Tim Cahill beat Saunders five minutes from the break with a header off a Dax McCarty pass that slammed off the crossbar.
New York made eight changes at halftime and tied the game in the 61st minute. Roy Miller found space on the left wing and his cross into the box found Bustamante, who fired it into the back of the net.
The Red Bulls return to Desert Diamond Cup play on Saturday, Feb. 16, taking on the New England Revolution at Kino Sports Complex as part of the 2013 Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson, AZ. Kickoff is set for 8:00 PM ET. The match will be streamed live via www.newyorkredbulls.com. Red Bulls ticket plans for the 2013 season are on sale now by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER or logging onto www.newyorkredbulls.com.
New York Red Bulls 2, Real Salt Lake 2
Feb. 13, 2013 – Kino Sports Complex – Tucson, AZ
2013 Desert Diamond Cup
Preseason Match
Scoring Summary:
RSL: Joao Plata 1 (unassisted) 1’
RSL: Cole Grossman 1 (unassisted) 3’
NY: Jamison Olave 1 (unassisted) 30’
NY: Michael Bustamante 1 (Roy Miller 1) 61’
Disciplinary Summary:
None
New York Red Bulls – Santiago Castano, Brandon Barklage (Kosuke Kimura 46’), Markus Holgersson (Tyler Ruthven* 46’), Jamison Olave (Heath Pearce 46’), Connor Lade (Roy Miller 46’), Dax McCarty (Amando Moreno 74’), Tim Cahill (Michael Bustamante* 46’), Lloyd Sam (Eric Alexander 37’), Juninho (Marius Obekop* 46’), Fabian Espindola (Rafhael Domingues* 46’, Josue Martinez 84’), Thierry Henry (Peguy Luyindula* 46’)
Real Salt Lake – Josh Saunders* (Jeff Attinella 46’); Lovel Palmer (Kenny Mansally 62’), Carlos Salcedo (Chris Schuler 62’), Aaron Maund (Kwame Watson-Siriboe 62’), Nickardo Blake* (Tony Beltran 46’); Yordany Alvarez (Kyle Beckerman 62’); Cole Grossman (Sebastian Velasquez 62’), John Stertzer (Khari Stephenson* 62’); David Viana (Ned Grabavoy 62’); Joao Plata (Robbie Findley 62’), Devon Sandoval* (Alvaro Saborio 62’)
* - Guest/Un-Signed Player
