RECAP: A Tale of Two Halves in the Five Stripes; Red Bull New York Falls to Atlanta United FC, 2-1
After a week of inactivity, Red Bull New York traveled down to the Dirty South and played Atlanta United.
This week of inactivity came because the team didn’t participate in the Leagues Cup, so they had time to practice the things that have plagued them.
This game is interesting because Mijhair Jimenez benched Jorge Ruvalcalba.
Jimenez, who had a brace against Orlando, had his option picked up as the Panamanian was bought out from Plaza Amador in the midweek.
First Half
This half was relatively quiet, with Atlanta United controlling much of the action. In the fifth minute of the game, Emil Forsberg was able to finish a goal from the six-yard box after a series of passes starting from Mathew Dos Santos. Dos Santos passed it to Julian Hall, who then passed it to Adri Mehmeti, and then the final pass to Forsberg to finish the play.
After the goal, there was a lull for the rest of the forty-five minutes as both teams were attacking each other. Atlanta had the ball for most of the first half but couldn’t threaten the goal defended by Ethan Horvath. The Red Bulls had more dangerous plays, but to no avail, as the half ended with a 1-0 advantage for the visitors.
Second Half
This half started much like the first half ended, with Atlanta dominating possession. For the first quarter of this half, the teams were evenly matched, and Atlanta grew, with nothing to stop it. In the seventieth minute of the game, in a tale as old as the season has gone, Atlanta beat the defense to score. In a true golazo, Tristan Muyumba, assisted by Aleksey Miranchuk, got away from his defenders and shot the ball into the upper right 90, a spot notorious for goalkeepers. One reason it’s a notorious spot is the high risk of injury, and another is that if a ball is shot there, it’s highly likely to be a goal.
The second goal by Atlanta came in the eighty-second minute as Rafa Picault scored on a header made by Miguel Almiron. The goal came mainly because no defender picked up Picault until he was on the post, and, to make it more embarrassing, it went through Horvath’s legs. In a rare move, Eric Chupo-Moting came in for Mehmeti, and the team rebounded as Hall had the best chance it had since the goal. Lucas Hoyos deflected Hall’s shot for a corner, and Justin Che was in the wrong spot at the right time to deflect Ruvalcalba’s shot for a goal kick.
In the 90th minute, Cam Harper almost scored, but Atlanta’s defenders and Hoyos made a massive mistake; it was deflected to a corner again and not converted into a goal.
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