RECAP: Red Bull, DC Draw in Atlantic Cup Thriller, 4-4
Red Bull New York and D.C. United tied in the 111th meeting between the two Major League Soccer originals.
A 4-4 draw saw both teams leave points on the table. DC struggles continue while New York’s inconsistencies remain in the spotlight.
“To score four goals, to be up 2-0 and 3-1 at home, we left points on the table tonight, for sure,” said head coach Michael Bradley.
“Our ability to deal with some of those situations wasn’t what it needed to be. So we’ve got to continue to look hard at how we can deal with those things in a better way.”
Donkor, Ruvalcaba, Hall All Shine
This was a game where Red Bull started very strongly.
Julian Hall scored his sixth goal of the season less than 20 minutes into the game, in the 15th minute. Midfielder Adri Mehmeti played a ball forward to midfielder Ronald Donkor, who played a through ball into the box to forward Julian Hall, who struck a shot into the back of the net.
The Red Bulls doubled their lead in the 21st minute. Winger Jorge Ruvalcaba turned at the top of the left side of the box and played a ball through to defender Matthew Dos Santos. The young wingback one-touched into the box, deflecting off a DCU defender. The ball fell to Donkor, who placed a one-time right-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the net.
Just 21 minutes in, and Donkor had an assist and his first career MLS goal. He ended the night with another assist.
With DC pushed and the score at 2-1 after the halftime break, New York scored a third in the 52nd minute. Midfielder Emil Forsberg played a ball wide to Ruvalcaba, who stunned the DCU defense. He got past one defender and then cut inside on a second defender and struck a right-footed shot into the roof of the net.
After DC was able to score two and tie it, the Red Bulls regained the lead in the 71st minute. Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath rolled a ball out to Donkor, who played a ball wide to Ruvalcaba. The winger dribbled down the left wing, cut inside, and struck a right-footed shot at the top of the box into the bottom right corner.
Tai Baribo Stuns
DC’s big offseason pickup Tai Baribo has six goals this season. Three of them came against RBNY on Wednesday.
With United trailing 2-0, Jackson Hopkins raced to the end line on a breakaway and sent the ball into the penalty area—an unmarked Baribo to slot it home in the 37th minute. In the second half, the Israeli striker exploded, beginning with a 59th-minute game-tying goal. João Peglow’s pass was angled inside the far post to make it 3-3. He finished off the night with another tying goal in the 80th minute, using his shoulder to redirect a cross by Silvan Hefti.
The last goal started with a play by former RBNY midfielder Caden Clark. The substitute Caden Clark played a ball to the endline that was crossed into the six-yard box by Hefti and was ushered into the back of the net by Baribo.
The only non-Baribo goal came from Jackson Hopkins, who raced past the defense for a through ball by João Peglow and scored on a breakaway to pull within 3-2 in the 54th minute.
“I mean, I’m a little bit down. I’m not happy,” Ronald Donkor said after the game.
“I think we could have just won this game, but it didn’t happen. So I think we just have to keep going. I don’t think we can say anything again, because we couldn’t win.”
Another night, another poor performance by New York’s backline. Dylan Nealis and Robert Voloder struggled consistently. Young wingback Matthew Dos Santos earned an assist but was subbed off at halftime for the second time this season.
Where Is Tim Parker?
A common question among the fanbase so far this season has been the lack of playing time for center back Tim Parker. Despite being re-signed in the offseason, Parker has not seen much playing time despite the team’s lack of options at center back.
Bradley was asked about this after the game.
“Tim is a really important guy for the club. He’s a really important guy for the group. We will continue to find good moments to get him on the field and take advantage of his qualities. Even in a period when he hasn’t been on the field as much, he continues to play a big role in terms of who we are and what we are about.”
He added that the team will continue to evaluate options during the busy stretch of games.
That includes the league match against FC Cincinnati this weekend.
Plus, the US Open Cup match on Wednesday versus New York City FC.
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