HARRISON – Red Bull New York (3-2-1, 10 pts) put forth their best attacking performance of the season Saturday, beating FC Cincinnati (2-4-0, 6 pts) 4-2. New York’s four goals were the most they have registered in a match so far this campaign.
The first match in almost a month at Sports Illustrated Stadium for Red Bull did not disappoint. For a club who entered Saturday with only five goals to their name, the week off allowed the squad to get readjusted.
What fans saw on a chilly Saturday night was what they envisioned this squad could do on the attack. In a way, it rivaled the opening match of the campaign where Red Bull bombarded Orlando City SC with multiple scoring opportunities.
After only scoring two goals throughout March, Red Bull got right to work. In the 12th minute of the contest, winger Cade Cowell unleashed a beautiful ball to forward Julian Hall, who would hand Red Bull a 1-0 lead.
Now with five goals on the campaign, Hall made some history with his performance.
“It felt amazing,” Hall said on his goal postgame. “I got to thank my guy Cade Cowell for delivering a great pass in the box and just doing my job.”
The scoring was far from over for New York as captain Emil Forsberg, after weeks of trying, earned his first goal of the season. In the 48th minute, Forsberg orchestrated a tremendous free kick that went bar down and gave Red Bull a 2-1 lead.
Later in the 66th minute, Cincinnati defender Kyle Smith would score on his own net, strengthening Red Bull’s lead to 3-1. Minutes later, Smith would score in the correct goal, adding to Cincinnati’s goal total to make it 3-2 in the 72nd minute.
The visiting side, however, did not embark on a marvelous comeback like they did when they faced CF Montréal on March 22. New York’s incredible performance was capped off by a Mohammed Sofo goal in stoppage time. That goal would be the first for Sofo on the season.
“Great to score four goals,” head coach Michael Bradley said postgame. “We want to be a team that plays really good football, creates chances and finds different ways to get into the box and be really dangerous… for tonight, really really happy to score four goals, happy to score four at home. Really proud of the group for the response.”
This was the type of result the club needed after their embarrassing defeat on the road to Charlotte FC on March 21. The players were in sync, they understood their assignments well and they were determined to bounce back.
Arguably, the best player on the pitch for Red Bull Saturday night was Ronald Donkor, who Bradley spoke about postgame.
“Excellent game, excellent,” Bradley said on Donkor postgame. “He has really unique qualities… he’s a great young man. Loves to train everyday, loves football. He’s going to keep getting better and better.”
According to FotMob, Donkor had the best rating of any player on the pitch in Saturday’s match with a rating of 8.6.
Red Bull hit the road next Saturday as they will visit the brand new Nu Stadium to face Inter Miami CF. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV.
