Final Score: Red Bull 0, Nashville SC 0
There was major energy heading into the home opener at RBA, but Red Bull failed to capitalize, leaving with just a point after 90 minutes.
It was the first game back at Red Bull Arena since their defeat in the playoffs to Cincinnati. Metro fans wanted to see a win to get the bad taste of last season out of their mouths.
Instead, Red Bull drew 0-0 to a Nashville team who didn’t start three of their best players, including reining MVP Hany Mukthar. It wasn’t a bad performance from Red Bull, it just didn’t live up to the build-up throughout the week.
Saturday night’s game was set up with some big expectations. The team was able to keep all but one of its starters from last season, the front office signed a new striker for $5.3 million and most importantly, soccer was back at RBA!
Pre-game, Red Bull held a “Red Carpet” event for the fans, as all of the players arrived at the stadium. It was a great sign from the club that they want to give back to the fans as much as possible, and the home opener showed that commitment.
The supporters brought that excitement into the stadium and took it to another level with their pre-game tifo honoring the great TV series “The Sopranos”.
This was a disappointing result for the 18,474 fans that showed up expecting a home-opener victory.
It didn’t happen, not because Red Bull was unlucky like match day one, but because they didn’t deserve to. That’s what manager Gerhard Struber said post-game after the 0-0 draw.
“In the end, I think we deserve no win today. This was not good enough. In the end, the chances, what you have to create at home and we have to score. Three good moments but in the end, not the killer moments we want.”
Facing Nashville, Struber made zero changes to his XI after they were clearly the better team in week one. He hoped that they would take that performance as motivation heading into the home opener.
The first two games for Red Bull were vastly different. Against Orlando in week one, Red Bull had THREE big chances missed. Saturday at home against Nashville, Red Bull had just one big chance, and it came from left-back JMi.
In the 12′, Lewis Morgan made a beautiful diagonal run all the way from the left wing to the right.
It was a 2-on-2 for Red Bull. Tom Barlow ran towards the penalty spot and the Scot was able to get a low cross into the path of Barlow but it was slightly deflected behind the striker.
Luckily for Red Bull, JMi was trailing the play at the back post and was ALL ALONE. With just Joe Willis between JMi and the goal, the Red Bull home-grown hit it straight at the stumbling Willis.
It was a huge opportunity missed for Red Bull and it ultimately was their biggest chance in the game.
Red Bull, for all their success in creating chances in the first game of the season, just couldn’t break through the Nashville defense on a constant basis.
The last bit of excitement came later in the game around the 75′. Red Bull Arena erupted when new signing Dante Vanzeir was subbed into the game for his first career Red Bull appearance.
Vanzeir played for around 15 minutes, but the Belgian knows what Red Bull needs to improve in future games.
“We have to be more creative and without pressure. If it doesn’t go or we don’t succeed, it’s okay, we try the next time. We have to be more confident and relaxed. Defensively, we’re stable. The offense needs to step up a little bit and take our level to another level again.”
Struber post-game has all the praise in the world for the supporters, who were behind the team from minute one through the final whistle.
“A big thank you for the fans for the atmosphere today, I think we had a great support today. The atmosphere was good and I think they would deserve more today.
The players also echoed their praise for the fans. “It’s great, very nice welcome, gives you a good feeling to start the game, said Vanzeir.
Brazilian playmaker Luquinhas had a rebound game in the home opener but said the team was not satisfied with the end result. “The excitement to play at home was really good. We were not satisfied with the result but to play on a field like this with all the fans, it’s really good.”
Looking forward to next week, Red Bull takes on Minnesota United and captain Sean Nealis is expecting nothing less than three points and the victory on their business trip out to the “North Star State”
“I think we’ll have a good week of practice leading up to the Minnesota game and I think we’ll have a good game against them. We Played them in the preseason and were confident in our ability against them.”
Match Stats
- Final Score: RBNY 0, NSH 0
- Possession: RBNY 58%, NSH 42%
- Shots (On Goal): RBNY 8 (3), NSH 5 (0)
- Fouls: RBNY 13, NSH 12
- Corners: RBNY 3, NSH 5
- Saves: RBNY 0, NSH 3
Match Day 3 Information:
- Who: Minnesota United (1-0-0, 3 Points) vs Red Bull New York (0-1-1, 1 Point)
- When: March 11th, 8:30 EST
- Where: Allianz Field, Saint Paul, Minnesota
- How to Watch: MLS Season Pass- Apple TV+
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