RECAP: Red Bull Fall to Charlotte, Offense Can’t Finish, 2-0
Red Bull New York returned to Sports Illustrated Stadium for the first time in two months on Saturday evening.
However, the team didn’t get the memo early on, conceding twice in 20 minutes and losing 2-0 to Charlotte FC.
An announced crowd of over 22,000, with plenty of families in attendance, saw New York at its most frustrating. Possession, but plenty of slight chances on goal. The chances that were good? Stopped by a goalkeeper on a mission.
Head coach Michael Bradley said his group had good ideas but poor finishing. It’s his team’s second straight loss since coming back to MLS play.
Red Bull are currently 8th in the Eastern Conference with 22 points in 17 games.
“Generally, I thought our ideas and our way of trying to push the game from 2-0 down were pretty good. We missed the last pass, the last cross, the last shot and the last dribble,” Bradley said.
“We got into really good spots, but we weren’t quite able to find the decisive bit of quality, speed or execution. That’s certainly something we have to continue working on.”
Highlights
Bad Start, Bad End
New York’s offense came to play in front of its home fans for the first time in a long time. The defense did not get the memo.
Charlotte opened the scoring in the seventh minute when winger Liel Abada crossed the ball to the top of the box. Midfielder Pep Biel collected it and placed a one-time shot into the bottom right corner past a diving Ethan Horvath. They doubled the lead in the 12th. Kerwin Vargas played a ball to the top of the box to midfielder Ashley Westwood, who laced a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
Charlotte’s first two times in the Red Bull end gave them goals.
RBNY captain Emil Forsberg spoke after the match about how, overall, that start sunk them.
“I think we got sloppy. It’s two unnecessary goals from us, and you get punished if you don’t do the details,” Forsberg said.
“And we got that today. It feels bad because I think the two goals that we conceded were unnecessary because I think overall we controlled the game.”
Overall, New York controlled possession but couldn’t threaten. The home side shot 12 times in the first half, and four of those were on target. New York was even cognizant of rebound attempts.
In the 31st minute, Adri Mehmeti took a shot near the top of the box that was saved by Charlotte keeper Kristijan Kahlina. The loose ball chance was grabbed by Dylan Nealis, but his shot was blocked. Four minutes later, it happened again with shots by Cade Cowell and Jorge Ruvalcaba being saved.
New York was good, but couldn’t get out of a hole in the first half. The second half was a different story. Momentum favored RBNY heavily, but they could only manage two shots on target. Meanwhile, Charlotte did nearly nothing, but their defense did enough to hold the lead.
Frustration boiled over, and Mehmeti was shown a second yellow card in stoppage time for dissent of action and words. His teammates and coaches tried to usher the young player off the field before he could get in further trouble.
“He and I spoke inside. At that point, it was just about making sure he went inside and didn’t do anything that was going to get him into more trouble,” head coach Michael Bradley told media after the match.
“He and I spoke, and that part was important after a situation on a night like this. Adri is a really, really talented young player. He has so many good qualities. He’s been so important for us this year, and it’s all part of growing and maturing. He’ll learn from it in good ways. He’s going in a really good direction.”
Bradley was seen speaking to the referees at center pitch after the final whistle. The conversation, which Bradley explained was calm and appreciated, was about some calls. In an era of coach and referee interactions being more heated, Bradley seemed to have done well in this one.
Hats off to Kahlina
It needs to be said how good a game Kahlina had; a stellar performance.
One that rightly earned him a spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday with his five saves.
Near back-to-back double saves in the first half, and two saves on Forsberg chances in the second half. New York needed to be on their A game to beat him.
Yet many shots seemed weak or wide, especially from Cade Cowell. Ronald Donkor was nearly invisible, with only one shot off target all game.
Choupo-Moting and Harper Question
Saturday also marks the second game in a row where Red Bull was missing two players. Striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and midfielder Cameron Harper were both not in the starting XI or on the bench against Charlotte.
After the match, Bradley explained both players were dealing with separate minor setbacks.
Choupo, who last played on May 9, has been dealing with multiple “physical issues”. The coach explained he had been training during the break before picking up another small issue, and that he is back to training. Harper, who returned to play just before the World Cup break, picked up a small injury during training after returning post-break.
Neither player was listed on any injury report ahead of today’s match. Raising more suspicion. Choupo-Moting seems to be having issues with finding playing time this year, whether that’s on him or not fitting the new Bradley system. The same goes for Harper. The midfielder seemed healthy but spent a long stint playing with Red Bull II instead of the first team.
It’s something to follow moving forward.
Moving On
Major League Soccer knows it can’t take another break right after the World Cup. The MLS All-Star Game is happening this week in, funny enough, Charlotte, North Carolina. The game between MLS and Liga MX (Mexico) All Stars will be on Wednesday, with a skills challenge on Tuesday. RBNY is only sending one player to the event, forward Julian Hall.
The 18-year-old striker was honored before Saturday’s match for the accomplishment. He became the second-youngest player in club history to make an All-Star roster. MLS Commissioner Don Garber chose Hall as one of his two picks for the game after Hall wasn’t selected by fans.
But that’s a scrimmage game.
Red Bull New York will be back in Harrison next Saturday when they host Orlando City SC. Since the two teams met in the season opener, Orlando has started to rebound. City is 10th in the East with six wins.
Since the start of May, the team has won five of nine games.
That includes their return to play post-break on Saturday, where they beat Nashville SC 1-0.
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