Despite earning a valuable point on the road at a hostile Sporting Park, the New York Red Bulls wanted more.
They were, after all, playing a man up with 20 minutes to go, but they failed to capitalize on their advantage and settled for a 1-1 draw with Sporting Kansas City in their season opener.
“For us, it wasn't a perfect game by any means,” head coach Jesse Marsch said after the game. “But I thought overall to come into a tough place to play on opening night and come away with a draw, was all-in-all a pretty good result and a pretty good performance for us.”
On most occasions, coming home with a point would be deemed a successful road trip. Yet a Matt Besler red card in the 70th minute left many within the New York locker room ruing their missed chances.
“I think before the game if you had asked us if we would have taken this result, coming into a new season with a new system, new coach and new players, we probably would have taken the result,” captain Dax McCarty said. “If you ask me now, I'll tell you we are disappointed.”
Kansas City took the lead in the 50th minute through Ike Opara, but the Red Bulls were quick to respond as Lloyd Sam equalized just four minutes later. The winger’s moment of individual brilliance left goalkeeper Luis Marin helpless as his curling effort from 20 yards out flew into the near post.
While winning the possession battle, the Red Bulls failed to consistently create scoring chances on the night. In particular, 2014 Golden Boot winner and newly branded Designated Player Bradley Wright-Phillips struggled to make an impact.
“We would like to get Bradley more involved, that's for sure,” Marsch admitted. “He did have a couple advantages that didn't come his way or the way that we would want them to. Not sure about some of the offside calls, I'll have to take another look at that again but I continue to feel strongly that Bradley will find his chances and we have a good midfield behind him.”
For newcomer Sacha Kljestan, the draw may have been a missed opportunity, but the fight in his side is something that he believes can push the side forward in the coming campaign.
“I think our mentality was good tonight,” he said after the game. “We could have been a little better on the ball and had more patience, but overall a good first step.
“It's 50-50 for me. I think if you had told me before the game that we would come away with one point in our opening game, at Kansas City, I think we would have taken it. After going through the game, I think we all came out disappointed and that's a good sign.”
