HARRISON – Red Bull New York (3-5-3, 12 pts) fell once again in league play, this time to FC Dallas (4-3-4, 16 pts) by a score of 2-0 on Saturday. This was New York’s first loss to Dallas since March 11, 2012.
Saturday night was supposed to be a special night for the team that resides in Harrison. Club legend Bradley Wright-Phillips was inducted into the team’s Legends Row and some believed New York could get the victory to make the night better.
Wright-Phillips was undoubtedly one of Major League Soccer’s (MLS) best goal scorers and was partly responsible for New York’s glory days in the 2010s. A winner of multiple Golden Boots and a three-time Supporters’ Shield winner, Wright-Phillips deserved this honor.
Unfortunately for Red Bull, no one was able to replicate his brilliant goal scoring ability to honor him on Saturday. Rather, it was Dallas’ outstanding Croatian forward, who left a mark early in Saturday’s match.
Dallas’ Petar Musa commenced the scoring in the 54th minute with a goal to put Dallas up 1-0. Now sitting on 10 goals in MLS play this season, Dallas’ number nine is making a case for a spot on Croatia’s World Cup squad this summer.
For Red Bull, it was another match where they allowed the first goal.
“We just said this to the group that in some of these games when we do need a little bit of a stronger push to really play from behind and come back and now get back to even and then push to win the game from there, that is still something that we have yet to consistently show,” head coach Michael Bradley said postmatch on Saturday. “That’s an important part for a team because you’re not always going to get the first goal yourself. On nights when you go down, the ability to play from behind and really push is important.”
All things considered, Red Bull were decent in the first half. Keeping it a scoreless game entering halftime, it appeared things were looking up for the home side.
By the end of the match, however, the attack and the backline had no answers against the side from “the Lone Star State.”
Attacking wise, Red Bull finished the match with zero shots on target. Even with Eric Choupo-Moting subbing on for Julian Zakrzewski Hall in the 83rd minute, no goals could be found for Red Bull.
Then, in the 88th minute, 2025 MLS NEXT Pro MVP Sam Sarver sealed it for Dallas with his first goal in MLS.
Like so many performances before, Red Bull dropped the ball once again. With three straight losses in all competitions, things don’t look great right now for New York.
It has to be considered that there will be growing pains, especially with young pieces being heavily utilized. Fans, though, want to see this club be successful and play intelligent soccer. A result like this could make fans become disinterested and for a team like Red Bull, that should never be the case.
Red Bull will be on the road next Saturday when they face Chicago Fire FC in the “Windy City.” Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on Apple TV.
