A week after having to grind out a victory down ten men against Kansas City, Red Bull would find themselves in another fight as they were on the other side of a red card, but this time they would have to settle for just a point in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati picked up a red card pretty early in the second half, so it was pretty disappointing to only come away with a draw, but you shouldn't be too upset coming away with points in a tough environment on the road.
Pregame it was a little uncertain what Gerhard Struber and Red Bull would do at the back with mainstay and rock in the middle of defense Sean Nealis suspended after picking up a red card last week.
Red Bull fans would be biting their nails once they saw they would have to see a "makeshift" back line of Dylan Nealis, Aaron Long & Tom Edwards go up against the trio of Brenner, Brandon Vazquez & Luciano Acosta who had lit the league up in the first half of the season with 19G, & 12A combined from the three attackers.
So here's how Gerhard Struber's boys lined up at TQL Stadium.
Struber also gets the likes of Caden Clark & Daniel Edelman back from the USYNT U20s after capturing the CONCACAF U20 Championship while Andres Reyes makes the matchday squad for the first time after suffering a broken foot in January.
Cincinnati started the game very aggressive in their tackles, getting after Red Bull's MVP Luquinhas In the first 2', putting him down to the ground often and HARD. The Brazilian was forced to receive assistance from the trainers after Tyler Blackett slid in very recklessly, earning him a yellow after Luqui stayed down holding his leg.
Red Bull created an early chance after John Tolkin found himself on a ball in the box and picked out Patryk Klimala just on the top of the area with his first touch tried to find the top left corner but it was an awkward shot and the keeper easily saved it.
Cincinnati almost saw themselves go ahead in the 14' after Brandon Vazquez was sent in behind Dylan Nealis, but as he has done all season, Carlos Coronel made a huge save with his left foot to keep it 0-0. Also, Vazquez was offsides, but Coronel didn't know that.
Cincinnati kept the pressure on in the Red Bull half of the field and got their breakthrough in the 21' after a familiar Luciano Acosta once again broke through Red Bull's backline early in this game with a through ball and caught Aaron Long napping while Vazquez snuck in behind the Red Bull captain.
Coronel made another save on his first shot, but Vazquez got onto his own rebound and just tapped it into an open net to make it 1-0.
Red Bull, just like in the Atlanta game, did not waver after conceding and also would get an immediate lifeline against Cincinnati. Tolkin, was brought down in the box after Raymon Gaddis swung his foot and hit the NJ native just inside the 18-yard box, and after confirmation by VAR, the referee pointed to the spot.
Lewis Morgan stepped up to the spot as he has done all season and with his fourth kick from the spot, Morgan once again converted his kick, finding the bottom right corner past Roman Celentano for his 9th goal of the season, 4th from the penalty spot.
Red Bull was back in the game just like that.
The rest of the half would turn into an end-to-end, counter-attacking affair but neither team would be able to create another dangerous chance before Rosendo Mendoza blew his whistle for halftime.
The fouls also started to pile up on both sides as the games had picked up a physical edge to it as the teams each had two yellow cards apiece entering the locker rooms.
https://twitter.com/corkinho/status/1545926412024037377?s=20
Cincinnati however came out of the break flying, as Brenner was able to latch onto a ball in the box in the 47', finding Acosta who was able to shed his defender in the box and get a shot off, only to be blocked by Aaron Long with a last-ditch effort to put out the fire.
Gerhard Struber looked to his bench pretty early as Tom Barlow replaced Patryk Klimala up at striker once again early in the second half, a sight we have seen plenty of times this season.
In the 57', Luquinhas stole the ball off Acosta, and then after being beaten down the right-wing, Allan Cruz tactically fouled the Red Bull midfielder, earning him a second yellow card and a sending off as Mendoza sent the Costa Rican to the showers early.
Red Bull would create a very dangerous chance just after the red card, with John Tolkin receiving a ball down the left-wing and cutting it back to goal scorer Lewis Morgan. Morgan, who was about 22 yards from goal, attempted to curl it into the far-right corner but Roman Celentano was able to parry his shot over the bar for a New York corner in the 63'.
With Tom Edwards on a yellow card, Struber would send Andres Reyes onto the field for the first time this season to replace the Englishman. Caden Clark also checked into the game in the game for Cameron Harper as Red Bull changed to a 4-2-3-1, looking to find the go-ahead goal on the road.
Talking about his return back to the field, Gerhard Struber said that Red Bull will need Andres moving forward.
"First of all, I'm very happy he's back. He had a long time behind him with rehabilitation. Today, his first game it was good to see him back. He's very powerful and we need to find the right load and impact for him to grow, he's important for the upcoming games. I'm very happy he's back."
The last real big opportunity for Red Bull to steal a win came by way of Tom Barlow in the 81'. Frankie Amaya picked out Morgan on the left wing and all alone in the middle was Barlow. Morgan saw Barlow open behind Geoff Cameron and co and was able to cross a ball that found the striker's head.
Unfortunately for Red Bull, Barlow's lack of quality in the final third squandered the chance as he headed the ball nowhere near the target as it sailed 10 feet over the crossbar.
Even up a man from the 58' on, Red Bull lacked creativity in the final third and let Cincinnati off the hook as the home team just parked the bus and tried to hit Red Bull on the counter for the final half-hour.
The last big moment of the game occurred in the 92' when Aaron Long and Luciano Acosta got together after the captain fouled him as the Argentine did not like it. Acosta then confronted Long and proceeded to headbutt him, earning himself a straight red card... SMART!
Red Bull would not be able to take advantage of Cincinnati going down to nine men as Rosendo Mendoza blew his final whistle, a decision that drew the anger of Stuber who thought more time should have been added on.
Alas, Red Bull earned a critical draw in a tough environment on the road. Yes, Struber and his players should feel disappointed to not get the victory after being up a man for 32' but a road point is a good thing.
Head Coach Gerhard Struber was disappointed with the result even though they expected a tough game from the surprise of the early season in Cincinnati.
"We expected a tough game, it's behind us. We know they have power and they changed their style to play more forward. In the second half, we changed and found more control. How we pressed was more efficient, and our transitions were better and better. We were good in some moments, but not good with the space they gave us."
"In the end, we had one big chance with Barlow, but not enough. We are not happy with the result and also with the performance. The standard is higher, the expectation is to win. The boys also weren't happy with the game" said Struber to end his opening statement.
Captain Aaron Long stepped up to the podium and described how the game changed in a major way after Allan Cruz got sent off.
"I think before the red card when it was 11v11, they did a good job of mixing it up, sometimes playing short and sometimes trying to play long and pick up second balls. When we tried to play into the middle into our sixes or our tens, they did a really good job of closing us down and trying to play forward quickly. After the red card, I think they packed it in a little bit more and just tried to limit our chances and I think they did a good job of that."
Now Red Bull looks toward Derby week as they take on nycfc at RBA late Sunday afternoon.
The smurfs finally won their first game under new coach Nick Cushing thanks to three first-half penalties and a red card to Andrew Farrell as the baby blue team from the Bronx defeated New England 4-2.
Red Bull will look to continue their success against their little brothers from across the river and increase their lead to four points better in the Eastern Conference with a win.
https://youtu.be/s2LFFS6Sflc
Match Stats
Final Score: NY 1, CIN 1
Possession: NY 55%, CIN 45%
Shots (On Goal): NY 8 (3), CIN 10 (4)
Fouls: NY 9, CIN 11
Corners: NY 4, CIN 0
Saves: NY 3, CIN 2
Next Game: July 17th, vs New York City FC 5:00 PM EST
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