Are we breathing? Are we happy? Are we back to where the club is supposed to be? Good. Because I had a good feeling after what they went through against Inter Miami in the second half, they were going to have a bounce back game, and boy did they ever. After the news of the club giving Dylan Nealis a new three year contract, the Massapequa, NY native made a brilliant play to launch a big looping ball toward the other side of the pitch and found Lewis Morgan running toward it and setting him up for a big chance to get the opening goal.
Captain Emil Fosberg converted his third penalty and fourth of the season, Elias Manoel with the smasher late in the second half, then Cameron Harper gets a cheeky backheel pass from the Super Scottsman to chip the keeper for the fourth and final goal of the match in second half stoppage time. They looked compact and strong on the ball, they didn’t allow themselves to go backward, and that center back tandem of Sean Nealis and Noah Eile worked to perfection once again. Sandro Schwarz during the entire week his players needed encouragement and positive reinforcement to get back on track. They looked like they showed that in the match.
Right now they are undefeated at home with three wins and two draws, while the only two losses were on the road. In fact, when have you ever seen this club do this well and only drop all three points twice within the first twelve matches to start the season? None that I can remember, the addition of Forsberg has been great for the Red Bulls and so far the hiring of Schwarz has looked good too. While they are holding their own and jumping back up to third place in the east, these next two matches before their break, are must win games. They must get wins over DC United and NYCFC on the road to keep their place in the top three of the East.
While the Revolution did try to spoil the night with some strong moments in the first half, and that equalizer from Carles Gil, at the end of the day, they just couldn’t put anything together for the rest of the match. They got a second goal late in the game, but it didn’t matter. The Red Bulls found a way to take all three points and ended the match on a high note. Let’s see what they will do next against their oldest rival in MLS during midweek.