Harrison, NJ – Frustration is starting to boil over from everyone at Red Bull and that begins with Gerhard Struber. The team is winless since their March 18th, 2-1 victory over Columbus and that form continued with Red Bull falling once again to the Philadelphia Union at Red Bull Arena, 1-0 by way of Daniel Gazdag from the penalty spot, extending their winless streak to seven games.
Will the sun rise one day for Gerhard Struber and his Red Bull team or will the nightmare continue for the foreseeable future? Something needs to happen or Red Bull is in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
Match Information
- Venue: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
- Competition: MLS Match Day 11
- Box Score: Red Bull 0 (1-6-4, 9 Pts) vs. Philadelphia Union 1 (4-2-4, 14 Pts)
- Attendance: 18,712
Starting XI’s
Red Bull (3-4-1-2): Coronel; Reyes, S. Nealis, D. Nealis; Harper, Casseres Jr, Yearwood, Tolkin; Fernandez, Burke, Manoel (Head Coach – Gerhard Struber)
Philadelphia Union (4-3-1-2): Blake; Harriel, Glesnes, Lowe, Wagner; Flach, Bedoya, McGlynn, Gazdag; Sullivan, Carranza (Head Coach – Jim Curtin)
Game Summary
Goals
- 31′ Daniel Gazdag (PHI) [PENALTY]
Stats
- Possession: RBNY 53%, PHI 47%
- Shots (On Goal): RBNY 17 (3), PHI 3 (2)
- Fouls: RBNY 23, PHI 18
- Corners: RBNY 3, PHI 2
- Saves: RBNY 3, PHI 1
Discipline
- 25′ Andres Reyes (RBNY)
- 36′ Leon Flach (PHI)
- 45+7′ Quinn Sullivan (PHI)
- 68′ Cory Burke (RBNY)
First Half
The action started off pretty quickly inside 2′. JMi on a throw-in, was able to throw the ball behind the Philly defense and was played off the Philly defender with a potential handball. After a replay, it hit just above the sleeve and no penalty was awarded.
Philadelphia would get their first chance of the game in the 5′. USYNT U20 attacker Quinn Sullivan found himself on the ball inside the Red Bull box but there was some miscommunication between Sullivan and Daniel Gazdag on the final pass. Sullivan went for the cutback straight to the back post and it worked. Fortunately enough for Red Bull, Gazdag didn’t make that run and settled toward the penalty spot. A big let-off for the home team.
Red Bull was able to get back on the front foot in the 8’s, with JMi finding Omir Fernandez free running toward the Philly goal. With Corey Burke running in behind as the decoy, the Bronx native would go for goal himself. The effort would go wide as Fernandez wasn’t able to wrap his foot around his effort.
Just two minutes later Dru Yearwood, who was given his first start of 2023 for the first team played a superb ball into the path of JMi running in behind the Philly defense once again. Instead of being the playmaker he’s been this season, JMi would test Andre Blake. Cutting inside onto his weaker right foot, JMi’s curling effort was aimed just underneath the crossbar. If it wasn’t for Blake being MLS’s best Goalkeeper, JMi would have opened the scoring. But the Jamaican was able to push the ball over the bar to clear the danger.
Penalty???
In the 25′ Red Bull looked to be in trouble. Alejandro Bedoya played a ball into Carranza and as Dylan Nealis was recovering inside the area, “grabbed” the Philly forward. In real-time what looked like a clear dive, was called a penalty by the on-field official.
VAR would intervene and call Joe Dickerson over for a second look. After deliberation with VAR, the official would stay with his call on the field to the dismay of the players on the field, Gerhard Struber, and the rest of the crowd.
On the ensuing penalty, Daniel Gazdag would put home the penalty to give Philly the 1-0 in the 31′. Red Bull would once again have to claw back from a deficit at home.
Even with six minutes of stoppage time at the end of the half, nothing of substance came from either team and the score stayed the same heading into the half, 1-0 Philly.
Second Half
The first big action of the second half didn’t come until the 57′ when Philly got a free kick down the right wing, basically a closer corner kick. The cross was low on the ground and went under the wall and straight through the box right on the foot of a Philly player who had his effort ticketed for the back of the net. Thanks to a diving Carlos Coronel, who parried the ball over the net, the score remained just 1-0.
In the 73′, Red Bull had their chance to equalize. Cameron Harper latched onto a ball over the top and was one-vs-one with Jack McGlynn. Attacking the slower midfielder, Harper beat McGlynn and placed a perfect cross to the back post for someone to attack.
Corey Burke, the big target striker for Red Bull “miss-timed” his jump and from just a couple of yards out, headed the ball over the net. It would be the last chance for Red Bull before the clock struck 90′.
Post-Game/Final Thoughts
Red Bull with the loss is now winless in their last seven games, with their last three points coming back on March 18th against Columbus. It’s been a frustrating time for both Gerhard Struber and the players.
Struber in his post-game presser said that his frustration is on an “outstanding high level”, a “10/10 I would say.” For whatever reason this season, nothing seems to be going right for Red Bull. In nine out of the eleven games this season, Struber’s team had a higher xG than their opponents. But stats and analytics don’t win you soccer games, goals do.
The main talking point coming out of this game will be the penalty given by referee Joe Dickerson in the 25′ which turned out to be the deciding moment of the match. Talking to players post-game, everyone called the penalty “soft” at best.
Talking to the officials post-game, here’s their point of view on the penalty situation (thread):
Looking past the refereeing decision how does Red Bull dig themselves out of this hole they’re currently in? As of Saturday night, Red Bull sits dead last in the Eastern Conference with just nine points from 11 games.
Based on xG stats, Red Bull should be sitting in fifth place with 15.1 xG this season, only behind New England, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Nashville. The odds are they should bury some of these chances going forward right?
Defensively, Red Bull are a solid group. They are currently conceding only one goal per game, which is third in the east, and have the two best CBs statistically graded in the air this season with Andres Reyes (96.6) and Sean Nealis (95.3). Once Red Bull is able to turn these “expected goals” into real goals, Gerhard Struber’s team should be just fine, I’m optimistic!
BY THE NUMBERS
1: In their first five homes matches of the season, Red Bull has just one victory at Red Bull Arena
7: Though 11 games in the 2023 season, Red Bull has managed to score just seven goals. That is good for just .64 goals per game. You can see why Red Bull is rock bottom in the Eastern Conference.
10: Red Bull is winless in their last 10 matches against the Philadelphia Union, with their last victory coming
100: Tom Barlow’s 100th appearance for the club.
Man of the Match: JMi (John Tolkin)
If there was MOTM from this game from Red Bull, it was JMi. From the opening whistle, JMi was all over the field, getting involved on both ends of the pitch in a positive way. Attacking-wise, JMi recorded half of Red Bull’s shots on target, with Andre Blake needing to make an outstanding save to keep Red Bull off the board early.
To go along with his shooting, JMi was credited with 73 touches, three chances created, two successful dribbles, and four accurate long balls. That didn’t take away from his defensive game as JMi had 12 recoveries, won 9/13 duels, and was able to keep Philly’s offense in check for the majority of the game.
UP NEXT
Red Bull has a busy schedule ahead of them with the US Open Cup Tuesday night, as they face hated rival DC United at MSU Soccer Park on the campus of Montclair State University. It doesn’t get any easier next week as Red Bull hosts cross-town rival NYCFC to RBA for the Hudson River Derby, with kickoff set for 7:30 P.M ET.
As for Red Bull II, their three-game unbeaten run was snapped by Philadelphia Union II, losing 2-1 at home, thanks to a very poor first half.
the II’s will look to rebound with a victory as they host NYCFC II for the first every Hudson River rivalry for the second team. Both games will be hosted at MSU Soccer Park at 7:00 PM EST.
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