RECAP: Red Bull New York Beat Cincinnati, Rebound After Break, 4-2
Following a two-week-long international break, Red Bull New York surged back with a 4-2 win over FC Cincinnati at home on Saturday night.
Julian Zakrzewski Hall scored another goal in the young season, while 2025 goal scorers Emil Forsberg and Mohammed Sofo also found the back of the net.
Cade Cowell and Ronald Donkor played key roles in the game plan. Cowell’s continued presence up the wing and Donkor’s dual threat in the middle were invaluable. The latter pressured the Cincinnati defense from a distance the entire night.
A proven reason why his play at midfield is so paramount to New York right now. Even if there wasn’t a goal that came with it.
Overall, the team overcame a chip on its shoulder by beating Cincinnati in Harrison, something that has historically been difficult to do for RBNY.
First Half
New York entered the match with yet another lineup. The backline included a returning Dylan Nealis at center back, replacing the suspended Gustav Berggren. The rest of Robert Voloder, with Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Matthew Dos Santos on the sides, remained unchanged. As did the midfield and attacking players.
Cincy’s Roman Celentano was still nursing a leg injury, meaning Evan Louro was in as the goalkeeper. He was tested early and often as New York put on fast pressure. In the 12th minute, a series of plays up the right side of the field put RBNY ahead. Defender Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty placed a through ball down the right wing to Cade Cowell. The winger tormented a defender and crossed a ball into the six-yard box. Forward Julian Hall redirected it on goal, where Louro got a piece of it but couldn’t keep it from going past the line.
The goal was Hall’s fifth of the season. He currently leads for the most goals in the Eastern Conference and for the second-most in Major League Soccer this season. Red Bull confirms that Hall is the youngest player in MLS history to score five or more goals in their first six appearances of an MLS season, doing so at 18 years and 11 days old.
Speaking after the game, Hall was quick to credit his success to the people around him. That includes last season’s team-leading goal scorer Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who Hall has been starting above so far in 2026.
“Yeah, I mean, even he’s told me those are where all the goals are scored,” Hall said.
“So I do my best to get in those positions all the time, and I’m just putting them away as much as I can.”
Cincy rallied with a quick response in the 17th minute. Red Bull continued to push for more, but that left them open for counterattacks. Kévin Denkey came up the left side as New York tried to run back. A short pass to Pavel Bucha at the top of the box with no one around him was a perfect chance. He shot into the left corner of the net as Ethan Horvath looked out of place to make a stop, making it 1-1.
Head coach Michael Bradley noted after the match that Cincinnati’s fast, physical play made them primed to counter New York’s high aggression.
“There will be a few things to look at for sure,” Bradley said to the media.
“It’s a night where we give away a few too many balls in the attacking part of the field, which allows them to go off in transition a little too easily. But, again, this is the work.”
The game fell back into a New York attacking stretch. Emil Forsberg and Ronald Donkor combined for chances within a few minutes of one another.
FCC’s Evander had a pair of chances as well, the first going over the bar before the second was blocked. The team’s entered halftime deadlocked.
Second Half
Red Bull got an early break when Kyle Smith committed a foul outside of the box. Captain Emil Forsberg initially scuffed his chance, but was allowed to retake after the referee blew his whistle for positioning. The Swedish international scored his first goal of 2026 with a laser over the wall and off the crossbar.
FCC tried to respond in the 65th, but a Denkey header from the middle of the box slipped just wide right. New York countered down the right side, once again finding Cowell looking for a cross. He aimed for Julian Hall but instead hit off the extended leg of Cincy’s Kyle Smith for an own goal to make it 3-1.
Denkey and former RBNY superstar Tom Barlow led to no goal but earned the team a throw-in on the left side. Nick Hagglund threw it long into the box, where Smith beat Dylan Nealis and scored with a quick flick. It was 3-2 in the 72nd.
Both clubs continued to push with defending, the thing both teams have struggled with this season, being the deciding factor. Mohammed Sofo scored the final goal in stoppage time to give Red Bull a 4-2 final score.
Alvis Powell would finish the match with a straight red card for his foul against Omar Valencia, who had a goal-scoring opportunity. Bradley commented postgame that Valencia was alright afterward.
Thoughts
The win improves New York’s record to 3-2-1 and their first win in their last four games. More importantly, it feels like a hard reset after the 6-1 loss to Charlotte FC in March, which led into the international break.
The pieces New York played did their part, with some exceptions. Robert Voloder and Dylan Nealis had moments in the center-back position where both were beaten, with a concerning consistency. As the game wore on, these faded, but they were still worth watching.
Now, Red Bull moves past Cincinnati and onto Miami. The team will visit Nu Stadium next weekend in only its second game since opening to take on the defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami CF and Lionel Messi.
After that, a mid-week Open Cup clash against defending USL Championship final winners, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
“It’s a busy period coming, obviously we know that. We have the Open Cup starting as well. We’re excited,” Bradly said.
“There’s nothing better than playing games, and we have a really good group. We’re going to continue to push, training every day, and we’re going to continue to try to improve every single guy, and look, I think we’re shown that we’re not afraid to use everybody.”
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