Bradley Wright-Phillips Breaks Record as Red Bulls Beat Montréal

Bradley Wright-Phillips (Photo by Catalina Fragoso – Double G Media)

Returning home after a two-match away trip in the league, the New York Red Bulls faced a Montréal Impact, who had never won at Red Bull Arena. The 3-1 result kept that record intact while the Red Bulls shattered another one in what was a standout night for Bradley Wright-Phillips and Sean Davis.

The Red Bulls made the expected changes after Connor Lade and Damien Perrinelle were sidelined; Lade will be out for the season with an ACL injury, while Perrinelle will miss four to six weeks with ankle and meniscus trouble. Kemar Lawrence and Aurélien Collin came on in their places, respectively, while injury concerns for Wright-Phillips were dispelled midweek. New York were also without head coach Jesse Marsch, who received a red card in Los Angeles last week, and the head coach position on the night was taken by assistant coach Denis Hamlett.

The two teams remained scoreless throughout the first twenty minutes, despite the Red Bulls edging their opponents in possession. In the 21st minute, the deadlock was broken by the away side. Matteo Mancosu lead a counterattack for Montréal, and found Ignacio Piatti, who was able to score from close range.

The response from the Red Bulls came as quickly as anyone could expect, as New York grabbed a goal just a minute later. Surging into the Impact half, Wright-Phillips was fouled by Marco Donadel. As he was going down, he managed a touch on the ball, which slowly rolled into an open net for the forward’s first goal of the night.

The Red Bulls had a penalty claim in the 38th minute, after Wright-Phillips went down after an altercation with Laurent Ciman, which was not granted by the referee. Three minutes later, though, they got the go-ahead goal, again through Wright-Phillips. Davis sent the ball to Wright-Phillips’ waiting head, and the Englishman easily got it past goalkeeper Evan Bush for his second goal of the night. The goal was Wright-Phillips’ 59th in the league for New York, making him the team’s leading goal scorer in MLS, surpassing Juan Pablo Ángel.

New York came back from where they left off in the second half, as Davis added to his outstanding night, grabbing a goal seconds after the teams came back from halftime. Mike Grella sent a ball to Davis, who was waiting in front of goal. Davis took the shot, which had a small deflection, and the Red Bulls were up 3-1.

The Impact’s day got worse, as, a minute later, Ambroise Oyongo was sent off. Oyongo, a former player of the Red Bulls, went in for a two-footed challenge on Davis, was promptly given a straight red from referee Chris Penso. After Donadel was booked at the 50 minute mark, the Impact settled into the game, creating many opportunities to dig themselves out of the hole they were in. They were unsuccessful, and the Red Bulls added another three points to their record.

The final ten minutes saw the Red Bulls’ newest designated player, Omer Damari, make his debut as the team recorded the win. After the match, Hamlett spoke about the player, who he called “clever,” and was impressed with the Israeli despite his initial shock at the above 90 degree temperature. The club are trying to “get him used to playing with us and us playing with him,” Hamlett said.

Montréal head coach Mauro Biello remarked on the conditions, saying, “it felt like 100 degrees.” On his team’s second half performance, he said, “I got to applaud my guys, playing 45 minutes in that heat down a man.” Overall, he thought his team could have gotten a result, but needed to be better defensively.

Both coaches spoke highly of Davis, who now has two goals and two assists in as many matches. Biello said “he’s got a lot of talent” before adding that the midfielder “reads the game well.” Hamlett applauded Davis’ efforts after replacing the injured Dax McCarty, saying “his confidence is high right now.” Hamlett concluded by saying “he’s a humble kid and continues to work hard.”

Despite the positive result, New York did not leave the match completely unscathed, as Collin had to come off in the 60th minute for Sal Zizzo after several altercations throughout the match. Hamlett told the media that Collin could not see anything when he came off, but the club that he does not have a concussion.

The Red Bulls next go to Alianza in El Salvador for CONCACAF Champions League action on Tuesday, August 16, before heading to DC United in their next league match on Sunday, August 21.