CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The New York Red Bulls (11-11-6) faltered on Sunday night, falling to Charlotte FC (15-11-2) 1-0. New York falls to a disappointing 1-9-4 on the road this season.
Riding a two-match winning streak in MLS play, the Red Bulls were hoping to utilize their momentum to win vs the best home side in the league. Unbeaten in their previous seven league matches and dominant at home with 10 victories, Charlotte was not going to be an easy task.
Starting in the same 4-2-3-1 formation that defeated Philadelphia last weekend, New York wanted similar results, which was a win.
In a way, New York wasn’t necessarily bad in the first half. With a commanding near 59 percent of possession and five shots, one might assume they were able to capitalize vs Charlotte.
Yet, all changed 30 minutes in when a bad giveaway from midfielder Mohammed Sofo in the midfield led to a Charlotte goal opportunity. That opportunity led to a goal from Kerwin Vargas to make it 1-0 for Charlotte.
A lack of discipline from New York appeared to be present throughout the first 45 minutes. With two yellow cards and eight fouls, New York had to be frustrated with their form in the first half.
Notably, the play of Charlotte forward Wilfried Zaha frustrated the opposing Red Bulls players. Zaha was able to draw two fouls in the first half, both resulting in defender Dylan Nealis and midfielder Daniel Edelman getting yellow cards.
Much stayed the same in the first 30 minutes of the second half for New York. With no goals on 11 shots, Red Bulls manager Sandro Schwarz was understandably frustrated with his team’s performance.
The second half did see moments where the Red Bulls could generate something. In the 69th minute, New York goalkeeper Carlos Coronel made a tremendous save vs Charlotte’s Idan Toklomati to keep the scoreline at 1-0.
Later in the 78th minute, defender Raheem Edwards nearly scored on a corner kick to level the match at one. But the ball hit the crossbar and all hope seemed lost for New York.
There was one last chance for New York as the game was coming to a conclusion. In the final minute of stoppage time, captain Emil Forsberg’s header went above the goal and left New York with more questions than answers.
With their seventh straight MLS win, Charlotte made MLS history by becoming the fifth team in the post shootout era to win seven straight league matches. They also tied the second-longest win streak in a MLS regular season since 2000. It was also Charlotte’s fourth straight shutout in all competitions.
As for New York, the lack of goals and results on the road has diminished many fans’ optimism towards the team continuing their historic playoff streak. With six league matches remaining and a tough schedule ahead, many supporters are close to losing their patience with the squad.
New York will be back on the pitch Saturday night at home vs the Columbus Crew. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
