It was a tale of two halves at Red Bull Arena as the New York Red Bulls (6-8-8) fell to FC Cincinnati (14-2-6) by a final of 2-1 in MLS action on Wednesday.
As a crowd of 13,439 rocked the Arena, both teams played an impressive style of soccer in what was a fast-paced match.
For most of the First Half of the match the momentum was on the side of the visitors, one of the early impressive showings came from the foot of Kyle Duncan as he showed off some impressive footwork.
With the match building more and more things started to favor the Red Bulls, as Dante Vanzeir pulled off an impressive scissor kick early on. As the team gained more and more momentum the team got their first golden opportunity at the 28′
It was around that time that a penalty by FC Cincinnati Nick Hagglund put the home side in a wonderful position, with the crowd inching towards the edge of their seats it was all up to Bronx-product Omir Fernandez.
After taking a deep breath Fernandez attempted the penalty and scored the team’s first goal of the night with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Fans are encouraged to check out this audio interview with Fernandez as he shares these thoughts:
With all the fans and the team feeling a tremendous amount of joy after the first tally, things continued to seem favorable for the home team.
There were a ton of tremendous chances by both sides, one moment for the Red Bulls came when Cameron Harper sizzled a shot wide. Around the 36:59-mark Luquinhas tried his hand with a shot that went high of the cage.
As the teams went into the lockers at the Half things seemed firmly on the side of the Red Bulls.
That was until the Second Half started, as FC Cincinnati, the top team in all of MLS made some big-time adjustments.
They started to swing things in their favor and inched closer and closer to the first tally of the night. The offense in the frame started from the foot of Arquímides Ordóñez. Then there was a golden opportunity by Obinna Nwobodo, but his chance was blocked by a tremendous defensive effort by the Red Bulls.
Ordóñez one of the players to watch for as the MLS season progressed continued to try to find the equalizing shot, there was one shot at the 56:41′ that just went high of the cage.
As the Red Bulls battled to regain the momentum, one of the more impressive moments for the home side came from Luquinhas, as he busted out some video game moves to get the fans at Red Bulls Arena oohing and ahhing over his dribbling ability.
There was a special moment for the squad at the 64′ as Defender Matthew Nocita made his first MLS appearance coming in for Cameron Harper.
Nocita, a feel-good story for the team, was selected by the team in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. Playing in front of his High School Math Teacher, there were several key moments at the defensive position for Matt, as he is going to be one of the keys to the team’s success as the season progresses.
Fans can hear more from Matt as he talks about his mindset leading up to the debut and having his teacher at the match by checking out the link below:
Fans are also encouraged to check out this audio interview with Hassan Ndam by clicking here:
Head Coach Troy Lesesne shares his thoughts on the match and how in the last two matches vs New England and Cincinnati the squad has struggled in the Second Half of play:
At the 67′ the Red Bulls showed the quality they have as a team, as some beautiful passing found the foot of Frankie Amaya, as he shot the ball high of the cage.
Then there was the heart wrenching moment as at the 77′ the Red Bulls drew a penalty that set the stage for FC Cincinnati to pull back into the match. Taking the penalty for the visiting side was Luciano Acosta.
Acosta showed his quality during the night and was able to get the game tied on a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
With time ticking closer and closer to the 90′ the referees made the call for four minutes of stoppage time to see if the two clubs can determine a winner.
It was the visiting side that had all the momentum in stoppage time and being able to find the game-winner from the foot of Obinna Nwobodo.
From there FC Cincinnati was able to wrap up the victory on the road, leaving the Red Bulls team and fans with something to build on as the team prepares for the 2023 Leagues Cup
It is going to be some great action at Red Bulls Arena as the MLS and LIGA MX set up a World Cup style tournament.
The first match for the Red Bulls in the 2023 Leagues Cup is going to be against the New England Revolution on 7/22/23 with the kick-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
For more information on the New York Red Bulls fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
For more information on the 2023 Leagues Cup fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
Leagues Cup 2023 (mlssoccer.com)