ORLANDO, FL (February 5, 2015) – The New York Red Bulls put a stamp on the Orlando portion of training camp with a double-header on Thursday, putting out two different starting XIs against Toronto FC and Jacksonville Armada FC. New York downed Toronto 2-0, before falling to Jacksonville 4-1.
Playing in his first match with his new side, midfielder Sacha Kljestan guided the Red Bull attack early on. In the 15th minute, the U.S. international opened up some space in the middle before slotting Roy Miller into the box alone but the Costa Rican defender’s chip went just over the bar.
Eight minutes later, Dax McCarty played Kljestan in stride through the middle before chipping a pass for Bradley Wright-Phillips who saw his header well saved by TFC goalkeeper Joe Bendik.
Kljestan’s activity finally translated on the scoreboard in the 24th minute of the first 30-minute half. Homegrown signee Sean Davis played a corner short to Kljestan, who moved the ball to Miller on the left. Kljestan made a run into the box, was able to find a loose ball, and perfectly measured his shot inside the right post.
Twelve minutes into the second half another Davis corner was played but not cleared by the Toronto defense, and fell to an open Dax McCarty to head home from 10 yards out.
Just five minutes after McCarty’s goal, Kljestan lined up a dead-center free kick from 30 yards out, but saw his blast trail just over the bar.
New York controlled a good portion of the possession and goalkeeper Luis Robles was untested in 60 minutes of action. Robles wore the captain’s arm band for the first contest.
In the second game against Jacksonville Armada FC, a second XI featuring a mixture of current Red Bulls, unsigned draft picks and guest players got off to a slower start, conceding three goals in the first of three 25 minute sessions. Midfielder Eric Stevenson got one back for the Red Bulls with a curling strike from just under 30 yards out. New York ultimately fell, 4-1 on the day.
RBNY 2-0 Toronto FC
Scoring Summary
- NY: Sacha Kljestan (unassisted) 24’
- NY: Dax McCarty (unassisted) 42’
LINEUP: Luis Robles, Roy Miller, Damien Perrinelle, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Chris Duvall, Dax McCarty, Sean Davis, Mike Grella, Sacha Kljestan, Marius Obekop, Bradley Wright-Phillips
RBNY 1- 4 Jacksonville Armada
Scoring Summary
- JAX: Goal 4’
- JAX: Goal 8’
- JAX: Goal 20’
- NY: Eric Stevenson (unassisted) 30’
- JAX: Goal 57’
LINEUP: Kyle Reynish (Santiago Castano, 36’), Connor Lade, Ibrahim Sekagya, Bryan Gallego, Shawn McClaws, Eric Stevenson, Ian Christianson, Leo Stolz, Anderson Gabriel Cajano, Ruben Bover (Anthony Wallace, 25’), Anatole Abang
