Kings of New York
The New York Red Bulls earned a second New York Derby victory in four days last Wednesday night, this time over the New York Cosmos, 4-1 at Red Bull Arena. Sal Zizzo got the Red Bulls rolling early, while Anatole Abang, Sacha Kljestan and Mike Grella each scored to secure the victory. With the win, the Red Bulls advance to the quarter finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the first time since 2011.
The Red Bulls are also a perfect 3-0 against other New York teams this season, having already beaten New York City FC twice.
The Red Bulls started the way they did their first Open Cup game of 2015 - by getting on the board early. In the fifth minute Lloyd Sam found himself with space down the wing. Sam assessed his options and put in a cross towards the far post. Zizzo made a strong run to meet the ball and put a header back across the net and inside the far post.
The Cosmos evened things up in the 15th minute. Red Bulls center back Matt Miazga was able to break up an initial pass towards Cosmos forward Lucky Mkosana, but the ball fell directly to midfielder Leonardo Fernandes, who was able to play Mkosana in alone on Luis Robles. The forward had no trouble finishing one-on-one.
The Red Bulls retook the lead in the 42nd minute on another header - this time with 18-year-old Cameroonian forward Anatole Abang finishing off a cross from Sacha Kljestan. It was the third goal across all competitions for Abang.
Kljestan pushed the lead to three in the 53rd minute. The Red Bulls were awarded a penalty attempt after Chris Duvall was taken down in the box on a pure hustle play, touching the ball around a defender and getting taken down in the corner of the penalty area. Kljestan stepped to the spot and struck the ball directly down the middle past a diving Maurer.
Grella finished things off by adding the fourth in the 90th minute, taking the ball into the box on a pass from Felipe and losing defender Hunter Gorskie with two hard cutbacks before placing a low shot under Maurer and in off the far post. It was the fifth goal across all competitions for the Long Island native.
The Red Bulls will host the Philadelphia Union in a quarter final match after Philadelphia defeated D.C. United last Tuesday.
Red Bulls, U.S. Soccer Set Open Cup Date
The New York Red Bulls and U.S. Soccer have announced that the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match against the Philadelphia Union will be held on Tuesday, July 21, with kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m. at Red Bull Arena.
The match will be the first of two events that day at Red Bull Arena, the second being an International Champions Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and ACF Fiorentina. Kickoff for the U.S. Open Cup match is set for 4 p.m., with PSG and Fiorentina getting underway at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets for both matches are available by visiting www.NewYorkRedBulls.com/tickets
Red Bulls Fall in Columbus
The New York Red Bulls fell to Columbus Crew SC, 2-1, on Saturday night at MAPFRE Stadium. Anatole Abang gave New York and early lead, but two goals from Ethan Finlay, one in each half, gave the home side all three points.
New York is now 6-6-5 on the season, and 2-4-3 on the road.
The Red Bulls finish a stretch of six matches in 19 days with a 4-2-0 record across all competitions - 2-2-0 in league play, with two wins in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Abang staked New York a lead in the eighth minute. The Cameroonian played a give-and-go with Bradley Wright-Phillips at midfield. Abang laid the ball off and received the return pass in stride. Abang took possession into the penalty area and placed a shot underneath a diving Steve Clark and in off the far post.
Columbus pulled level in the 33rd minute, when a long pass from Clark was headed on by Kei Kamara to winger Ethan Finlay. Finlay worked into space on the right side of the box and fired a shot by Luis Robles to the far side.
Finlay earned his second brace of the season with a goal in the 74th minute. Federico Higuain put a cross in for Kei Kamara to head back across the box, giving Finlay an easy finish from close range.
Robles Nominated for Save of the Week
Luis Robles has earned a nomination for Save of the Week following another strong performance in Columbus. Robles was instrumental in keeping the game close, making several big saves in the second half. Robles was credited with four saves on the night. His best came in the 82nd minute in the form of a full-stretch diving save to deny Kamara, MLS’ leading scorer.
VOTE:Robles for Save of the Week
Red Bulls Set to Host New England
New York welcomes the New England Revolution to Red Bull Arena this Saturday for the first time since the first leg of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals. The Red Bulls fell in that match after a late goal from Jermaine Jones. A 2-2 draw in New England was not enough, and New England advanced to MLS Cup.
New England enters at 6-8-6, with a one-point lead over the Red Bulls in the standings. The Revs are 2-7-1 on the road in 2015. The team is most recently coming off of a 3-0 loss at Dallas last weekend.
The Red Bulls took both regular season meetings a year ago, but the Revolution dealt New York its first loss of 2015, a 2-1 defeat at New England on May 2 on the strength of goals from Charlie Davies and Teal Bunbury.
New York is 22-27-15 all-time against New England, including a 17-8-8 mark at home. Kickoff on Saturday is set for 7 p.m.
Three Red Bulls Enter CONCACAF Gold Cup
Three New York Red Bulls defenders, Roy Miller (Costa Rica), Karl Ouimette (Canada), and Kemar Lawrence (Jamaica) kicked off their Gold Cup campaigns last night.
Miller and Costa Rica kicked off their run against Lawrence and Jamaica on Wednesday, playing to a 2-2 draw. Both players were in the starting lineup, and Roy Miller scored for Costa Rica. Ouimette and Canada also played to a draw, 0-0 against El Salvador.
Miller has received more than 50 caps for Costa Rica and is the New York Red Bulls’ longest tenured player. Miller has started five matches for the Red Bulls this season. He recently joined the Ticos for a friendly against Spain and Colombia, and represented his country in last summer’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Lawrence returns to international duty with Jamaica after participating in the 2015 Copa America. He started all three matches for the Reggae Boyz, facing Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina. Jamaica did not advance out of the “group of death” but were competitive in all three matches. Lawrence has started 11 matches for the Red Bulls this season. He was named to ESPN FC’s BEST XI for his performance in the Copa America alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano.
Ouimette re-joins Canada after receiving a call up for Canada’s home-and-away series against Dominica, an early stage World Cup qualifier. Ouimette started in the first leg, a 2-0 victory for Canada, in which he played the full 90 minutes and preserved a shutout. For New York, he’s started five matches and played six at center back.
Academy U-16s Win National Quarter Final at Red Bulls Training Facility
The New York Red Bulls Under-16s defeated Chivas USA, 4-2, in the United States Development Academy tournament quarter finals on Wednesday night at the Red Bulls Training Facility.
The U-16s earned the right to host a quarter final by advancing out of the first stage of tournament last weekend in Indianapolis. The Red Bulls defeated the IMG Academy, 5-1, Solar Chelsea (Texas) 6-1, and advanced to the quarter finals with a 4-2 win over the Portland Timbers Academy.
The U-16s will now travel to Carson, California to participate in the championship event, hosted by U.S. Soccer.
