For the second time this season Julian Hall was at the right place at the right time and he rescued the Red Bulls from dropping all three points to rescue one. That night at Stade Saputo in Montreal when the club was down by a goal, he took his moment when a free kick was looped inside the Montreal area by Noah Eile toward Corey Burke, who headed the ball across toward the middle of the field and Hall struck it with his head inside the near post to silence the home crowd.
“Yeah, great after his substitution, and he had also a very good training this week. He scored last week for the second team.” said head coach Sandro Schwarz “So it was very good, very important for us in these moments then that we scored, and we also used the moment and the chance, and yeah, and he did it in Montreal the first time, which was very important, and to get one point, and also today, in a very good, very important moment for us, for the whole club, that he comes in and he’s directly, then in the game, and then also, obviously, then also to score.”
This time he came up big to end the silence at Red Bull Arena and got the crowd roaring for another magic moment at Red Bull Arena. The ball was along the far side and John Tolkin looked up to cross it into the area. That ball hit the Sporting KC defender and magically landed on Hall’s boots while he had no idea the ball got to him. With two defenders in front of Hall, he made a quick move to the right, shot it toward the inside of the far post, and caught Tim Melia cheating to level the score at one apiece.
The roar of the crowd was defining and Bulls on Parade was blaring through the loudspeakers. Julian Hall while only sixteen years old has been the most talked about prospect in the club’s academy for a very long time. A member of different age groups and winning titles, an Under 15 player for the US Men’s Youth team defeating Mexico for a CONCACAF title as well. Many supporters want to see this kid succeed and while he has only one start under his belt, the hope is he can continue to improve either off the bench or possibly take over full time, even though many scouts in Europe want him to come over now and join a club.
We can talk about those teenagers from the past who have been developed and gone on to have solid careers in MLS and abroad. Eddie Gaven, Jozy Altidore, and so on, but right now Julian Hall is going slow and steady for the Red Bulls, and the one thing that he has right now using him as an option is his positioning. Just being at the right place at the right time to get that lucky bounce, even though he didn’t expect it was on his boot, and then being aware to control the ball and beating Melia toward the inside of that far post to get the equalizer and put the club four points ahead of NYCFC was fantastic.
While we lament the poor miss by Elias Manoel in the first half, and the woes of Corey Burke and Dante Vanzier, we don’t want to put too much pressure on a kid like Julian Hall. Let him continue to make strides and improve his game. I understand there are six matches left in the regular season, but if Sandro Schwarz continues to use him the proper way, the hope is he can make a bigger leap on his own. But for now, don’t send a man to do the job of a sixteen year old.