Brandon Vasquez and Austin FC, combined with a hot Texas summer night, were too much for the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night as they lose 2-1 at Q2 Stadium. A sluggish return for the club is marked by difficult conditions and an Austin team looking for a spark to kick off the second half of their MLS campaign.
Austin wasted little time in taking the lead as defender Guilherme Biro headed in the cross from a corner kick in the sixth minute. Both teams negated each other in the midfield as a heat index of over 100 degrees left player legs looking weary very early on in the contest. Red Bulls were also hit with an injury scare early as the dynamic winger Cameron Harper had to exit the game following a rough challenge.
New York responded well as captain Emil Forsberg whipped a cross into the box that was deflected by Austin’s striker Vasquez for the equalizer. Red Bulls ended the half with more shot attempts but none on target, while Austin only managed to force one towards the net twice. Both teams had little to show on the possession stats but all to play for in the final 45 minutes.
Much of the same continued to start the second half with New York finding it difficult to attack without Harper as their attacking threat. Even the return of Scottish striker Lewis Morgan did little to kick start the Red Bulls offense. On the other side, Austin pressed forward the best they could, with Vasquez finding his second goal of the game, this time as the deciding effort for his team in the 51st minute.
Head coach Sandro Schwarz did his best with his remaining substitutes to influence the game. However, Felipe Carballo, Julian Hall and Dennis Gjengaar did little to push his team forward in order to find an equalizer.
The loss drops New York to eight place but they could fall further depending on results from Chicago and New England. With only one win on the road and a schedule that has the club traveling to Toronto in the 25th of June, Red Bulls will be focused on correcting their road form in order to keep their playoff hopes afloat over a long summer.
New York Red Bulls: Coronel; Duncan, Hack, Eile, Edwards (76′ Gjengaar), Edelman (56′ Carballo), Stroud, Harper (17′ Sofo), Carmona (76′ Hall), Forsberg, Choupo-Moting (56′ Morgan)
Austin FC: Stuver; Desler (70′ Uzuni), Hines-Ike, Svatok, Biro (87′ Kolmanic), Bukari (81′ Obrian), Pereira, Sabovic (71′ Sanchez), Gallagher, Wolff, Vasquez (83′ Taylor)
SCORING SUMMARY:
6′ (Austin FC) Guilherme Biro (3) assisted by Owen Wolff
23′ (New York Red Bulls) Brandon Vasquez – OG
51′ (Austin FC) Brandon Vasquez (6) assisted by Osman Bukari
DISCIPLINE:
37′ (New York Red Bulls) Peter Stroud – YELLOW CARD
81′ (New York Red Bulls) Noah Eile – YELLOW CARD
84′ (Austin FC) Dani Pereira – YELLOW CARD
90′ (New York Red Bulls) Alexander Hack – YELLOW CARD
photo by Matt Kremkau