HARRISON, NJ – The 2-2 draw against CF Montreal on Wednesday night left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths. The good thing is they didn’t have much time to dwell on that as FC Cincinnati came into town looking to spoil the undefeated home streak.
FC Cincinnati arrived with missing pieces. Chief among them were head coach Pat Noonan and defender Elvis Powell, who were hit with red card suspensions after their match with Chicago on Wednesday. Midfielder and club captain Luciano Acosta was nursing a foot injury and was regulated to the bench, and center-back Miles Robinson was listed as “unavailable” at kickoff.
The Red Bulls were looking to get three points finally, something they haven’t done since June 22, a 3-0 victory over FC Toronto, and although they have been unbeaten for seven consecutive matches, the matches where they have settled for draws where they were in a position to win those matches has the fanbase more than a little perturbed.
With the Red Bulls looking to jump on the visitors early, they wasted no time doing that. Just seven minutes into the match, Elias Manoel broke free of the Cincinnati defense and started a break toward the goal, spotting an onrushing Lewis Morgan, who tapped in the ball for his 11th of the season.
Still applying the pressure, the Red Bulls nearly doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute as Kyle Duncan spotted Elias Manoel in the middle of the box. However, his shot sailed high and wide to the left.
Midfielder Cameron Harper tweaked his hamstring and was replaced in the 28th minute by Dennis Gjengaar. Coach Schwarz pulled Harper out of an abundance of caution, sparing him from further injury.
FC Cincinnati had a chance to get on the scoreboard in the 37th minute. Gerardo Valenzuela got into the New York defense and got the ball over to Yuya Kubo near the center of the goal, but his header nearly missed the top left corner, as the home supporters exhaled with a sigh of relief.
As the first half drew to a close, the Red Bulls looked like the better team on the pitch, although Cincinnati had a brief moment to pull them level in a match destined to be a tight and tense affair between these two heated conference rivals.
The second half saw both Luciano Acosta and Luca Orellano enter the match looking to pull the visitors even, but just as they were about to get things going, Kyle Duncan doubled the lead with a thunderstrike from outside the box that caught the Cincinnati defense flatfooted for his first of the season in the 52nd minute.
Red Bulls tacked on another goal in the 60th minute, but Lewis Morgan beat the Cincinnati defenders to the loose ball and lifted it into the net, to the delight of the supporters in South Ward.
FC Cincinnati thought they had pulled one back in the 71st minute, but Corey Baird was ruled offside by the linesman, and the goal was disallowed, frustrating the players who felt that the goal should’ve stood. However, after a short review by VAR, the goal counted, and the Red Bulls’ lead was reduced to two.
The league leaders’ frustration was showing as players clashed after rough tackles and fouls, but the Red Bulls stood their ground, not giving an inch as they worked tirelessly to secure the win, their tenth, keeping their hold of fourth place in the Eastern Conference
Starting XI:
New York Red Bulls: Carlos Coronel, Kyle Duncan (52′), Noah Eile, Andres Reyes, Dylan Nealis, Wiki Carmona, Daniel Edelman, Ronald Donkor, Cameron Harper (Dennis Gjengaar 28′), Elias Manoel (Dante Vanzeir 74′), Lewis Morgan (7′)(Cory Burke 90+4′)
FC Cincinnati: Roman Celetano, DeAndre Yedlin, Ian Murphy, Kipp Keller, Yuya Kubo, Obinna Nwobodo (Yamil Asad 85′), Pavel Bucha, Bret Halsey (Luca Orellano 46′), Gerardo Valenzuela (Luciano Acosta 46′), Sergio Santos (Boupendenza 60′), Kevin Kelsy (Corey Baird 60′ (67′))
Scoring Summary:
7′ – New York Red Bulls – Lewis Morgan, assisted by Elias Manoel
52′ – New York Red Bulls – Kyle Duncan, unassisted
60′ – New York Red Bull – Lewis Morgan, assisted by Wikelman Carmona
67′ – FC Cincinnati – Corey Baird, assisted by Aaron Boupendza
Disciplinary Summary:
80′ – New York Red Bulls – Dylan Nealis – Yellow Card
88′ – FC Cincinnati – DeAndre Yedlin – Yellow Card
90′ – FC Cincinnati – Ian Murphy – Yellow Card