Harrison, NJ – Another disappointing result at Red Bull Arena as the home team failed to come away with three points against San Jose, who has a poor track record on the road.
Tom Barlow was able to rescue a point for Red Bull late into stoppage time, but the coach and most importantly the fans were not happy with the result, once again, a draw at home. But Saturday night didn’t end without some controversy, and unfortunately, it involved Red Bull’s DP striker.
Match Information
- Venue: Red Bull Arena; Harrison, New Jersey
- Competition: MLS Match Day 7
- Box Score: Red Bull 1 (1-4-2, 7 Pts) vs. San Jose Earthquakes 1 (3-2-2, 11 Pts)
- Attendance: 15,939
Starting XI’s
Red Bull (3-4-1-2): Coronel; Duncan, Reyes, S. Nealis, D. Nealis; Amaya, Casseres, Fernandez, Harper; Burke, Vanzeir (Head Coach – Gerhard Struber)
San Jose Earthquakes (4-3-3 “Holding”): Marcinkowski; Akapo, Mensah, Rodrigues, Marie; Judson, Yueill, Monteiro; Espinoza, Cowell, Ebobisse (Head Coach – Luchi Gonzalez)
Game Summary
Goals
- Cristian Espinoza (80′)
- Tom Barlow (107′)
Stats
- Possession: RBNY 51%, SJ 49%
- Shots (On Goal): RBNY 15 (5), SJ 10 (3)
- Fouls: RBNY 13, SJ 13
- Corners: RBNY 5, SJ 4
- Saves: RBNY 2, SJ 4
Discipline
- Omir Fernandez 10′ (RBNY)
- Rodrigues 24′ (SJ)
- Sean Nealis 54′ (RBNY)
- Judson 56′ (SJ)
- Marie 103′ (SJ)
First Half
In the first six minutes of the match, Red Bull already looked livelier in the attacking third. In the 5′, Corey Burke found himself with a half-chance, thanks to some nice combination play between Omir Fernandez and Kyle Duncan on the right side. The ball would eventually find the foot of Burke inside the area with the Jamaican putting his left-footed effort just wide of the right post.
Not a minute later Dante Vanzeir had his chance to open the scoring. Cristian Casseres found himself with no pressure on him and was able to get a looping cross into the box. Vanzeir, wide open at the back post, put his free header just inches wide of the left post.
In the 24′ Casseres once again found Vanzeir streaking in behind the San Jose defense. To stop the danger, Rodrigues brought down the Belgian just before entering the box. Red Bull players sprinted over to the ref begging for them to check with VAR for red. They were eventually denied and VAR seems to have missed another potential red card in Red Bull’s favor for the third straight game.
Vanzeir had another ball fall to his feet inside the area but just couldn’t squeeze his shot through on net in the 36′. Cameron Harper on the left wing was able to free himself up with his pace and lofted a cross to the back post. Marcinkowski got his fingertips on the cross but it fell to Vanzeir and thought he would open the scoring. Unfortunately for the Red Bull fans, it was blocked by a San Jose defender.
Red Bull had a serious scare in the 43′. Jackson Yueill touched a ball past Frankie Amaya in midfield and went for a goal. Yueill toe-poked a volley that almost beat Coronel as it dipped down and hit the crossbar. It would have been one of the goals of the year for sure.
The crisis was averted for Red Bull and they went into the half-time break at 0-0. The home side was the better in the first half, but once again like the first six games of the season, they didn’t find the back of the net.
Controversy
This is where all the controversy would begin. In the 54′, Dylan Nealis was clattered into by a high foot from Judson. Outraged by the lack of discipline, Captain Sean Nealis ran over to the referee demanding a card. Instead, he received a yellow card for dissent, while Judson also received a yellow.
Seconds later, San Jose players walked down Dante Vanzeir. Multiple players and coaches would then gather around the officials, furiously talking back and forth about something that occurred. At this point, the play was at a standstill for 10 minutes due to reasons unknown.
Speculation, now confirmed by Gerhard Struber post-game, was that the San Jose players were accusing Vanzeir of using a “racial slur”. From the press box vantage point, it seems that Vanzier and some of his teammates admittedly said that Vanzeir didn’t say what he was being accused of. Struber said that the team would fully comply with the investigation by MLS to clear the situation.
Second Half
The game would finally start back up almost 20′ later with the crowd booing the officials. As play re-started, Burke pinged a cross-field ball into the path of Kyle Duncan in the box. The right-back cut it back to Vanzeir in the box and went for the spectacular, with a bicycle kick attempt but sent the ball into the second deck.
In the 80′ however San Jose would open the scoring by way of Cristian Espinoza. Dylan Nealis was beaten with a ball over his head and in trying to recover over-committed and was caught leaning. Espinoza cut inside and 1v1 with Coronel beat the Brazilian at his near post.
As the clock struck the 90-minute mark, 21 minutes were added on account of the delay earlier in the match.
Four minutes into added time, Fernandez was able to run free down the left wing and cut the ball toward the top of the box to an oncoming Duncan. The right-back was heavily involved in the attack all night and hit the ball first time with his left foot heading toward the top of the net. San Jose’s Marcinkowski had other plans and was able to palm Duncan’s shot over the bar.
As Red Bull continued to push for an equalizer, they FINALLY got their reward in the 107′ as a result of Omir Fernandez’s effort. Fernandez was able to weave his way through the San Jose defense to get into the box and was able to get a pass all the way through to Duncan.
With his eyes set on the equalizer, Duncan placed his shot across the keeper’s body and it was set for the corner but was saved. Despite the effort from Marcinkowski, the rebound fell straight to Tom Barlow, and the 27-year-old tapped the ball across the line.
Finally, the clock finally hit 112′ and the official blew his whistle for full-time. Red Bull once again leaves the game with just a point at home, a disappointing result all around. Following the draw, Red Bull still remains with only one win after seven games in 2023.
BY THE NUMBERS
1: Matchday #7 was the first start for Dante Vanzeir for Red Bull after arriving from Belgium for a reported record fee. You can say there were some major positives but also a huge negative with this controversy looming large over Red Bull’s head.
5: Red Bull extends their unbeaten streak at Red Bull Arena to five games stemming back to last year’s regular season.
8: Red Bull remains undefeated with a 5-3-0 record against the Bay area team while playing at Red Bull Arena.
15: Red Bull peppered J.T. Marcinkowski, taking 15 shots total, but only saw 5 find the target. Red Bull also owned a 2.11 xG compared to the .75 from San Jose.
21: Due to the long break in the game, a minimum of 21 minutes of stoppage was added after the 90′, setting a new MLS record.
51: For the first time all season, Red Bull played with the majority of the possession, 51% to be exact, thanks in big part to the 21 minutes added on after the 90′.
107: With his goal in the 107′, Tom Barlow now owns the record for the latest goal scored in MLS regular season, breaking Kai Kamara’s 100′ penalty with the Whitecaps from last season.
Man of the Match: Omir Fernandez
In his third straight start in the attack for Red Bull, Omir Fernandez certainly had his confidence back last night. He was more active at trying to get into dangerous areas, taking players on, and setting up the game-tying goal that rescued a draw for Red Bull. For that reason, he’s my MOTM for Red Bull.
Here’s an illustration of Omir’s performance against San Jose:
- Touches: 51
- Successful Dribbles: 4/5
- Accurate Passes: 22/29 (76%)
- Chances Created (Big Chances): 3 (1)
- Duels Won: 7/14
With 2022 breakout star Lewis Morgan set to be out for the next 3-4, Omir will need to replicate tonight’s performance when called upon. Omir has always had talent, now it’s about adding consistency to his game. Once he does that, the goals and assists will come and you will see Omir Fernandez be a vital piece to this Red Bull team going forward.
UP NEXT
Red Bull runs it back next week at Red Bull Arena as the Houston Dynamo and Hector Herrea come to town, with kickoff set for 7:30 PM EST.
Red Bull II also is in action Sunday night when they take on Crown Legacy and next Sunday against Huntsville City FC. Both games kick off at 7:00 PM EST at MSU Soccer Park in Montclair, NJ. Check out my preview of the II’s season down below.
New York Red Bulls II 2023 Season Preview – Area Sports Network
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