This was a week of two different results against two sides that were fighting to stay alive to reach a playoff spot. One team got beaten handily, while the other let’s just say got lucky with some assistance from the officiating. But let’s start with the victory on the road at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario. A four goals to one master class that has been sorely missing from the Red Bulls with that long winless drought since returning from their Leagues Cup break. We saw Emil Forsberg starting in the midfield and wearing the captain’s armband to give direction and purpose to the boys in their huge win to knock TFC down and fall away from where they wanted to be.
Emil Forsberg with the help of VAR got a penalty opportunity as the referee failed to award one right away when Lewis Morgan was fouled by Shane O’Neill inside the area. He took it calmly and buried it inside the far post for the one goal lead. They also got lucky when Kevin Long’s equalizer was wiped out due to former Red Bull Academy product Derrick Etienne Jr being in an offside position in front of Carlos Coronel. Positive vibes to get into the second half. Morgan once again was big in this game. Not only winning a penalty but making a split second decision to cross the ball into a space as big as Montana, finding John Tolkin who was screaming for the ball and got it. He ran into the area and blasted it past Sean Johnson, who did get a glove on it, but not enough.
After TFC converted their penalty, Shane O’Neill once again made a clumsy challenge on substitute Cameron Harper as he tackled him down from behind inside his area to award a second penalty to the Red Bulls. Lewis Morgan took it and scored breaking his goalless scoring drought. Then Morgan did it again with a superb pass that sprung Elias Manoel and scored the fourth goal of the match to get into a better position in the Eastern Conference. A nice bounce back performance from their horrible loss at home to NYCFC. Then they traveled down to Georgia and sadly everything fell apart, but not all of it their doing. While I do admit they didn’t play well enough to earn a victory, they at least should’ve gotten a result in this one, and it should’ve been a draw.
The opening half had a solid start, but as the match progressed, it wasn’t as crisp as it should’ve been. Sandro Schwarz went with a brand new formation going five in the back with three sixes in midfield. They held off Atlanta United and frustrated them with their shot selection. When the second half began, Schwarz made the first sub putting Dylan Nealis into the match taking out Andres Reyes, and moving Cameron Harper up to the midfield. It worked and Harper played freely in an attacking role. As the match progressed disaster struck when Mosquera leaped up in the air to control the ball and we saw Dylan lift his right leg to play the ball. While I admit he was the last defender, I couldn’t see if he made contact while Mosquera was already in the air. The red card came out in the 66th minute and the Red Bulls were down to ten men.
Noah Eile then followed Jerome Thiare into the area, and when he got toward the end line, raised his left arm and somehow grabbed him and Thiare went down very easily to get the penalty call. VAR did call the referee over to the monitor to see if there was something else, but there wasn’t another angle where you could say it wasn’t a penalty. Alexey Miranchuk converted the penalty for Atlanta’s lead into the match. But it looked like the Red Bulls equalized very quickly to level the score at one. A great play to send Elias Manoel into a big run along the far side and when Brad Guzan came well off his line, the equalizer was there, but VAR came calling again to wipe out the goal.
That angle from VAR which came from an overhead view somewhere at the top of Mercedes Benz Stadium was such a horrible angle, and it looked so tight, there was no way that goal should’ve been removed. Unless it was by a single hair or a whisker offside, the angle was never that conclusive, but sadly the poor officiating and the poor decision by VAR took it away. They fell to Atlanta United two goals to one on an evening that while I admit the Red Bulls didn’t play that great, the officiating cost them at least a point. Poor refereeing decisions during the Dylan Nealis red card, and poor VAR viewing to wipe out a goal that didn’t have conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the pitch. A horrible second half from referee Ismir Pekmic, and the VAR Room by Michael Radchuk.
The New York Red Bulls should’ve had at least four points out of six in these two games, instead it’s only three. They don’t need the official’s help to lose a match, they can do it all by themselves. It was a complete disgrace, because Atlanta United while making strong attacking runs, couldn’t hit the target all night. They pressured themselves into position, but still couldn’t put the ball away until it was a numerical advantage by taking off Dylan Nealis on that straight red card, and the VAR call to remove a legal goal by Manoel. There were plenty of yellow cards being dealt and Sandro Schwarz was also given one for his dissent at the referee. Yes they are in the playoffs, but that’s not the issue, the issue is why can’t the officials make the proper calls and why can’t the VAR room show clear evidence that Elias Manoel was in an offside position when he wasn’t? It’s just a helpless feeling to see them get wronged like this toward the end of the 2024 regular season.