It seemed Red Bull was looking forward to their derby against their bitter rivals from the nation's capital DC United. Red Bull has struggled of late in MLS winless in their last four MLS matches. But after 90', that stat would change.
Red Bull picked up some much-needed momentum heading into the derby thanks to a 3-1 victory midweek against Charlotte FC in the US Open Cup Round of 16.
Red Bull looked sharp and clinical against Charlotte and looked to carry over that same form in the Open Cup to MLS play where they desperately need a victory, especially at RBA in front of the home supporters.
Red Bull was given some good news pre-game as a surprise omission to the DC lineup was their team's co-top scorer Taxi Fountas. The Greek international picked up an injury midweek and had been on a tear to start the MLS season scoring five times in his first seven games for the club.
A sigh of relief from Red Bull as that was going to be the main player they were going to have to focus on throughout the match.
That is enough talking about DC, here's how Gerhard Struber's boys lined up against their rivals from the nation's capital.
Through the first 20', the match had little to draw from. Both teams lacked a creative touch going forward and for the most part, it was a pretty boring midfield duel.
The only noticeable action was when DC was forced into an early sub, Chris Durkin for an "injured" Brad Smith and a John Tolkin nutmeg. A nice little bit of skill from the Chatham NJ native down below.
https://twitter.com/NewYorkRedBulls/status/1530689881512546308?s=20&t=Nrx6cJTHJlJQS4Y5Uu4OBg
Red Bull did draw a few FK in the attacking third but could not entertain Bill Hamid with a shot on target. The biggest chance of the first half was squandered by Lewis Morgan in the 40'.
Morgan was played in 1v1 with Hamid by Patryk Klimala from midfield. It was a race towards the goal for Morgan but Donavan Pines was able to use his raw pace to force a corner rather than a shot on target. Red Bull did manage a chance off the ensuing corner, but a header was put past the post by Sean Nealis.
Only four shots total were attempted by both teams through 45'. It was just a poor half from NY, no other way to describe it. This tweet perfectly explained the first half in a nutshell.
https://twitter.com/pvtmcbain/status/1530701020468334593?s=20&t=hbSD2lLamRgjRpe7UUxLCw
It seemed we could be witnessing a continuation of the game down in Miami. But that sentiment would change mightily quick in the second half.
Captain Aaron Long was subbed off at halftime as Struber looked to "manage" the minutes of Long as he played a full 90' against Charlotte just three nights ago.
Struber instead of making a like-for-like sub with Long, brought on Omir Fernandez and changed the shape of the team from a 3-4-2-1 to a 4-2-3-1 to spark some more offense going forward as Red Bull struggled to break down the DC backline.
BOY did that substitution really turn things on for Red Bull. New York was already more creative in the attack in the first 5' than they were in the first half. And just nine minutes into the second half, Red Bull would find the breakthrough, a reward for being much more aggressive in the second frame.
John Tolkin sent a cross straight through the box to find the foot of Morgan, who finessed one into the top corner that beat Hamid, but it did not beat the DC defender who was standing on the line.
The ensuing clearance fell to Frankie Amaya, who settled the ball and after three touches blasted one straight at Hamid's hands, who parried it right into the path of Luquinhas who standing at the penalty spot.
With one touch the Brazilian hit one low & hard and through Donovan Pines legs to find the back of the net. New York was up 1-0 in the derby and everyone in Red Bull Arena could sense that there was blood in the water coming from DC.
It was all Red Bull after the goal and just three minutes later, Luquinhas would bag himself a brace with a "goal of the season" type finish.
Luquinhas, in his short stint at the club, has already shown that he is one of the most technical players we have seen at Red Bull in a long time and he put that technique on full display to volley a ball far post while sliding. Just an outlandish thing to pull off let alone even attempt in a game. GOALAZO!!!
The Brazilian is setting himself up to be a gem for Red Bull after coming over from Legia Warsaw this past winter. Luqi in 15 GP (915') has already tallied 5G, 5A in MLS & Open Cup and is certainly going to be one of the favorites to be named MLS "Newcomer" of the season once November rolls around.... What a player!
But two goals were not enough to satisfy the thirst that the Red Bull players had for goal as they finally had gotten the crowd roaring for the first time all season at home. They were looking for a third and it was coming as Red Bull was going for DC's jugular.
New York has struggled on corner kicks all season and those struggles continued against DC. But Red Bull would fall into some good luck as the ball was headed away, it was not fully cleared and fell right to a certain player from Scotland.
Lewis Morgan in one stride absolutely laced one from outside the box past Bill Hamid on the volley.
New York in a blink of an eye had two "goal of the year" candidates as Morgan pushed the dagger through the heart of DC's chances at any result at RBA.
In just about nine minutes of action, Red Bull had taken a three-goal lead in the derby. From the moment Struber changed his tactics at halftime, going to the 4-2-3-1, Red Bull took control of the game and never let it go.
DC was able to claw back a goal by way of a 88' Ola Kamara tap-in that was set up thanks to some sloppy and unfocused Red Bull defending.
But Red Bull would get that goal back right away when substitute Caden Clark sent fellow substitute Tom Barlow through on goal. Barlow causing havoc in the box forced an own goal after his shot was deflected up & over beat Hamid, hitting the crossbar and going in off a DC defender to seal the deal in the 90'.
As the official blew the whistle one last time, RBA exploded in joy as FINALLY for the first time in 2022, Red Bull gets a victory in front of the home fans. All it took was for Red Bull to play a derby to get a home win.
Post-game, Gerhard Struber talked about where he sees his Red Bull team going into the international break. āWhat I want from the goal timeline, we are in a very good place in the moment. But we know we have to stay humble. The league shows us how close is everything, and what you have to invest in every game that you can create in the end a win. I think in the end, we deserve the win, and yeah, I am very, very happy.ā
When asked about Luquinhas's special performance against DC, Struber was all smiles talking about the Brazilian. āIām very, very happy with Luquinhas in so many directions. His responsibility and ownership he takes into every game show us that he's a big win for me, the team and for the club."
"He can create with dribbling in overload moments, he can create with his passing moments, with his intelligent position, and special moments that is not protectable. I think this is not the typical Brazilian player sometimes what I feel. Heās in so many directions so reliable with his ability to score and his ability to make the final pass.ā
Tom Barlow, scorer of the fourth goal (credited as an OG), commented on his role with the team and how he has been able to thrive so far under the tutelage of Gerhard Struber.
āI have a year under my belt with Gerhard and heās put a lot of trust in me and has given me a lot of opportunities, for which Iām super thankful. Iām just trying to make the most of it and help the team in any way I can whether that is starting or coming off the bench. You know the most important thing is winning so weāre on the same page with that.ā
Captian for the second half, Sean Nealis, was asked about the message around the locker room after their massive derby win against DC United.
"It was just congrats to everybody. Everyone worked hard. I think we deserved this win, we played well out there. A lot of great goals from the Luqinhas and Lewis (Morgan) and I think weāre just relieved to kind of get that first home win and a lot of good momentum going into the break.ā
This marks the 14-game mark for Red Bull as they head into the June international break with a record of 6-5-3 (W-D-L) with 23 points, good for a share of third place in the Eastern Conference with CF Montreal.
Red Bull will get a much needed and deserved two-week break before returning to action against Charlotte FC, whom they just eliminated in the US Open Cup, but this time will have to travel down to Bank of America Stadium in front of 30k+ Charlotte supporters as they look for another result on the road in 2022.
https://youtu.be/j_u7MKNHQTA
Match Stats
Final Score: NY 4, DC 1
Possession: NY 53%, DC 47%
Shots (On Goal): NY 14 (6), DC 4 (1)
Fouls: NY 8, DC 12
Corners: NY 11, DC 1
Saves: NY 0, DC 2
Next Game: June 11th, @ Charlotte FC 3:00 PM EST
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