Don’t look now, but the New York Red Bulls are sitting atop Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference and to do so, they had to go into the house of the reigning Supporters Shield winners and beat them.
Sandro Schwarz’s men took down FC Cincinnati 2-1 on Saturday night at TQL Stadium, overturning an almost instantaneous 1-0 deficit to collect their fourth win in seven games already this season.
“It was a great game,” New York’s head coach said. “Great performance, especially after the start. In the first few minutes, we conceded the goal, but the first half was very good in our ball possession to get the confidence in the first half.
“This was good behavior, and then also with the result. We scored and had some chances. The second half was a great fight from the whole team. I think we deserved these three points.”
Yuya Kubo put Cincinnati in front just three minutes in when he directed a free header that originated from a rebound off a Carlos Coronel save to put the Red Bulls on the back foot early.
But the visitors’ response was swift despite being in enemy territory. Frankie Amaya drew the Red Bulls level in the 19th minute when Frankie Amaya struck a thunderbolt from outside the box that snuck just inside the left post. It was a first-time strike off a pass from Dante Vanzeir, who set a franchise record two weeks ago with four assists against Inter Miami.
Vanzeir, a striker, finally got his first goal of the season in the 60th minute when he curled a right-footed shot inside the box home.
“I think for a striker, of course, it is important to score and sometimes it can be difficult to score your first goal,” Vanzeir said. “Once that goal is in the back of the net, I’m sure that the next ones will follow. I’m a striker, and what they expect from me is scoring goals. That’s my main focus.
“On the other hand, I just want to help the team as much as possible. If I’m not the guy at the end of the action in front of the goal, then I hope I can set up the action to let somebody else score. Yeah I’m happy that I could get another assist and the first goal so it’s, it’s a great start for me for the season. I hope to continue this.”
Even with Emil Forsberg dealing with a nagging hamstring injury, the Red Bulls continue to churn out results. Through seven games this season, they are 4-2-1 for 14 points. Compare that to last season before the arrival of Schwarz where New York didn’t win its fourth game of the MLS campaign until May 31.
Quite a different one year makes, though it does not mean much to the German head coach considering its still plenty early in the season.
“[It means] nothing. To be honest, nothing,” Schwarz said. “It was more important that we had this performance. That we have this confidence. That we were dominant in an away game, in Cincinnati. Against a top team. Against a top coach. It’s good to get these results, but only seven games now in the regular season.”
