Connect with us

Soccer

NY Red Bulls end 11-year Colorado drought, beat Rapids 2-1

The NY Red Bulls have defeated the Rapids in Colorado for the first time since 2007 to climb up on the Eastern Conference standings.

Similar to their last two games against NY City and LA Galaxy, the Red Bulls scored the opening goal within the first few minutes. Off a throw-in from Michael Murillo, the ball found Bradley Wright-Phillips who crossed it into the box on a plate for Danny Royer to poke his second goal of the season in the fifth minute.

Derrick Etienne Jr., who came on for Wright-Phillips in the 67th minute, would make it 2-0 on the 76th, off a low cross from substitute Alex Muyl who replaced Florian Valot. At first the goal was taken away as it appeared Etienne was offside, but referee Ismail Elfath pointed to Video Review and overturned the call, the goal stood.

There was enough time for Colorado to stage a comeback, Jack McBean would grab a goal in the 85th minute to half the deficit. However, it was all the Rapids could muster as they have now lost four straight.

Jesse Marsch went with the exact same lineup that destroyed City last week, and you can’t really blame him as that appears to be his best starting eleven. The strategy paid off, as his team were able to grab another early goal in difficult conditions playing at high altitude.

The Rapids were unfortunate on the other hand, as striker Dominique Badji suffered an injury during warm-ups and had to miss this game. It was a big blow for their offense as they generated few chances up front until McBean’s goal. That loss proved to be New York’s gain, as they came away with three precious points on the road.

“I think the group has belief in themselves and in each other,” Marsch said. “We know that we have a good group. We know that we have a group of players that can fit the way we want to play. We have good mentality and we have good leaders and I think it’s still growing into itself. I really believe we still have a long way to go to be the team that we can be. The good part is that we are finding ways to get wins and we are finding ways to manage moments.”

New York are now on a three-game winning streak after splitting the first six games at three wins, three losses. They’ve also won four out of their last five league games, including their last two on the road. Up next is another huge road game, against Atlanta United.

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Soccer