Red Bulls Goals: Bezecourt 2', Long 52', Royer 87' & 89'
NYCFC Goals:
Quick Look...
New York City FC’s wait for a first US Open Cup victory will go on until Season Five after they were handed a 4-0 defeat at Red Bull Arena.
Vincent Bezecourt and Aaron Long scored goals at the start of each half, before Danny Royer struck twice late on to eliminate a heavily-rotated NYCFC side.
The silver lining for the visitors was the debut of 15-year old Homegrown defender Joe Scally, who came on as a substitute to become the Club’s youngest-ever player, playing the final 35 minutes of the match.
Match Recap...
On NYCFC’s last trip over the Hudson River in May, they found themselves two goals down within the opening four minutes on their way to a 4-0 defeat.
A better start was sought on this occasion but, once again, the away team were a goal down after 2’, with Vincent Bezecourt blasting into the corner, beating debutant Brad Stuver in the City goal.
Two minutes later, it got even worse for Patrick Vieira as Cedric Hountondji was forced off with a suspected muscle injury on his first competitive start for the Club.
From there, the visitors did show signs of recovery, growing into the game and enjoying a sustained period of pressure on the Red Bulls goal, with Jesus Medina, David Villa and Jonathan Lewis getting touches in the final third.
On 25’, Villa earned his first sight of goal thanks to some sweet footwork which took him beyond his marker and gave him room to shoot but Ryan Meara made the save, scooping the ball into his chest.
Alex Muyl could have put the hosts 2-0 up on 27’ after Maxime Chanot lost his footing on the edge of the area, creating an overload, but Ebenezer Ofori made a heroic last-ditch slide which was just enough to close off the angle on what looked like an open goal.
It was turning into an entertaining end-to-end game, with both sides taking turns to seize the initiative – in that spirit, Villa was inches away from equalizing on 36’ when he pounced on the rebound after Meara saved from Lewis but the ball was cleared off the line.
Vieira would have been satisfied with the reaction showed by his team after the early concession but he would not have been pleased to see the goal which doubled the damage just a few minutes into the second half.
It was a goal from a set piece as Long rose to head past Stuver, giving City a mountain to climb.
Ben Sweat showed some resistance when he joined the attack on 70’ and forced Meara into a diving save, before substitute James Sands played Medina through with a beautiful ball from deep, though the Red Bulls defense recovered to stop the threat on the edge of the box.
City never gave up and had a couple of good looks on goal before the final 5' but Red Bulls' Danny Royer struck twice from close range in the dying minutes to further inflate the scoreline.
Now there’s two days for City to dust themselves down before the visit of Atlanta United and a second MLS meeting with Red Bulls coming up fast after the World Cup break…
NYCFC.com Star of the Game
Ben Sweat
On a tough night for NYCFC, Ben Sweat gave it his all and came close to halving the deficit halfway through the second period.
With Ronald Matarrita away at the World Cup, Sweat is likely to feature prominently in the coming weeks and he put his best foot forward despite the result.
Social Post of the Match…
Stats and Milestones
- Kwame Awauh, Cedric Hountondji and Brad Stuver all made their first competitive starts for NYCFC
- Brad Stuver and Joe Scally made their full NYCFC competitive debuts
- Scally became NYCFC’s youngest-ever player, substituting in after 55’ at 15-years and 157 days
- James Sands made his first appearance of 2018, coming on as a substitute
How they lined up…
NYCFC XI: Stuver, Chanot, Hountondji (Ibeagha 6’), Sweat, Abdul-Salaam, Lewis, Awuah, Ofori (Sands 76'), McNamara, Medina, Villa (C) (Scally 56')
SUBS: Johnson, Caldwell, Ring
What’s Next…
The Boys in Blue return home to face Atlanta United on June 9 on Military Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium. Get your tickets below...
