HARRISON, NJ – With the Red Bulls’ playoff chances officially done and dusted, just about the only thing they could do is play the remaining two matches with some semblence of pride. First order of business is to deal with FC Cincinnati. Pat Noonan’s squad has been firing in all cynlindars, still fighting for a chance to capture thier second Supporters’ Shield crown. A loss to the Red Bulls would end those chances, and they would nothing more than play spoiler to a team they have grown to dislike since they have first met in the US Open Semifinal eight seasons ago.
FC Cincinnati is one of those elite teams in the Eastern Conference that has no problem getting goals on the road, and in the 12th minute they did just that, after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting missed his chance on one end fo the pitch, meanwhile, Kevin Denkey did not miss his. Taking a pass from Brenner da Silva on a break, he launched his shot from outside the box to the top right corner.
FC Cincinnati tried to double their advantage in five minutes later as Lukas Engle tried Brenner ad Silva and Lukas Engle tried to connected, but failed as his shot missed to his right.
It was easy to see which team was going to the playoffs and which one was going home, outside of shots by Forsberg and Dylan Nealis being blocked by the FC Cincinnati defenders, the Red Bulls had trouble moving the ball from through them, while the Orange and Blue basically dared them to shoot the ball as the first 45 minutes came to a close.
A careless pass by Sofo sprung Lukas Engle on a break toward the box. Fortunately for the Red Bulls, his shot went wide to his right.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting came the closest to evening the match in the 69th minute, but his point-blank shot was saved off the line by Samuel Gidi, perserving the clean sheet for Evan Louro.
In a sign of how things were going for the Red Bulls, hit the post not once, but twice in the 83rd minute. First, Wikelman Carmona took the ball from a corner kick, but it hit the post instead. Then Julian Hall followed up the play pouncing on the loose ball, but his shot was denied by the woodwork as he dropped to the pitch, wodering how he missed a wide open chance.
Julian Hall had another opportunity five minutes later, but his header bounced wide to the right, cementing a fustrating evening for the 17-year old forward.
When the final whistle was blown, most fans had already left for home, say for a few thousand sticking around for selfies and autographs before leaving for the season. With one last match to play before the curtain comes down to what will be known as a dissapointing season for the Red Bulls and their long-suffering fan base.
Starting Lineups:
FC Cincinnati: Evan Louro, Teenage Hadebe, Alvas Powell, Miles Robinson, Lukas Engel, Samuel Gidi, Evander Ferreira (Brian Anuga 86′), Pavel Bucha, Ender Echenique (Luca Orellano 81′(Nick Hagglund 86)), Kevin Dénkey (12′)(Kei Kamara 81′), Brenner da Silva (Ayoub Jabbari 67′)
New York Red Bulls: Carlos Coronel, Dylan Nealis (Kyle Duncan 67′), Alexander Hack, Tim Parker, Marcelo Morales (Raheem Edwards 81′), Dennis Gjengaar (Julian Hall 58′), Ronald Donkor, Gustav Berggren (Wikelman Carmona 67′), Mohammed Sofo (Serge Ngoma 58′), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Emil Forsberg
Scoring Summary:
12′ | FC Cincinnati – Kévin Denkey, assisted by Brenner da Silva
Disciplinary Summary:
32′ | FC Cincinnati – Kévin Denkey – Yellow card
58′ | New York Red Bulls – Ronald Donkor – Yellow card
90+2′ | New York Red Bulls – Tim Parker – Yellow card
90+4′ | New York Red Bulls – Alexander Hack – Yellow card