A goal by Seth Stammler and an 86th minute winner by substitute Jordan Cila was enough for the New York Red Bulls to grind out a 2-1 win over USL 2nd Division side, the Wilmington Hammerheads at Legion Sports Complex on Wednesday night in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. With the victory, the Red Bulls will next face D.C. United in the competition's next round.
"It's important to get the first goal in these games just to settle down a little bit," interim head coach Richie Williams said. "We had a lot of energy at the beginning of the game. We hung in there, they got the goal back and then obviously, we responded right away."
Although New York controlled the play in the first 45 minutes, the hosts had a number of chances to find the back of the net in the second half and equalized before the Red Bulls struck just seconds later.
The Red Bulls came out to a fast start as they took the lead just four minutes in.
Midfielder Mike Magee took the ball on the right wing and passed it to Stammler. Stammler took a couple of touches before smashing a shot into the top left corner from 20 yards out and beating Wilmington goaltender Bart Creasman.
"I just hit it, it went to the back post [and] I hit it well," Stammler said.
Stammler was again threatening less than five minutes later. After the Red Bulls earned their first corner kick, he latched onto Chris Henderson's delivery and flashed his header just past the right post.
The Red Bulls had much of the possession in the first half and continued to threaten Creasman's net. In the 25th minute, forward Jerrod Laventure, making his first New York start, forced Creasman to make a stop after he shot from outside the penalty box.
The Hammerheads, meanwhile, did not seriously test New York goaltender Tony Meola with forward Chris Bagley blasting high in the 26th minute. Less than 10 minutes later, Boyzzz Khumalo was able to get past his defender but his low shot was right at Meola.
New York was forced to make its first substitution of the match in the 33rd minute as defender Marvell Wynne picked up an injury and was replaced by Steve Jolley, who slotted in at right back And riding a one-goal lead going into halftime, the Red Bulls used up two more substitutions, bringing on midfielder Elie Ikangu and Cila for defender Todd Dunivant and Laventure, respectively.
Both substitutes almost made an immediate impact after Ikangu stole the ball, drove up-field and lost possession, before Cila picked it up and blasted high less than a minute in. Moments later, Henderson streaked towards the 18-yard box from the wing and slid a low, right-footed shot just past the left post.
Wilmington earned their best chance up to that point in the 53rd minute. Off a Wilmington delivery, Kevin Nylen was able to get his header on goal that Meola was forced to tip over. Minutes later, Phil Hufstader knocked a shot wide of the right post.
The Hammerheads kept on pressing for an equalizer. In the 65th minute on a counter attack, Bagley took the ball down the right wing before cutting into the penalty box and hitting a shot that Meola deflected away.
"They came out in the attack and they were strong, played hard and really lifted a lot of good balls into the box," Cila said.
Cila almost put the Red Bulls two-up when he received the ball in the penalty box. His subsequent shot however, was knocked away by Creasman.
Wilmington earned an equalizer in the 85th minute. Brady Bryant, who just came into the game, launched a ball into the box that fellow substitute Ryan Miller headed past Meola and into the bottom left corner.
"They were pounding balls into the box and we knew coming into the game that they played very direct and had some big bodies. If they were going to score, that was the way they were going to score," Williams said.
But while the fans were trying to catch their breath, New York again took the lead just seconds later. Danny O'Rourke raced down the right wing before crossing the ball to Cila, who had no trouble putting the ball past Creasman.
"I came out of halftime a little bit fresher than everyone else," Cila said. "I knew guys didn't want to go out and play the whole 90 didn't want to go to overtime and 30 more minutes, so to get that goal a minute after they did was a very good thing for us."
Wilmington looked to tie the game, but could not get a quality chance off with Bagley blasting high.
"We knew it was going to be tough, we knew it was going to be a battle and we [had] the right attitude," Meola said.
The Red Bulls have a week-and-a-half break before they take on UEFA Champions League Winner, FC Barcelona, on Saturday, July 12 at Giants Stadium. Game time is at 7:15 p.m.
