HARRISON, N.J. – The New York Red Bulls have won back-to-back games for the first time since April and have put an end to a cleansheet drought that dates back to June, but only after enduring a 90 minutes that almost ended in severe frustration.
The Red Bulls defeated rivals D.C. United for the first time in 2014 in their final regular season meeting on Wednesday night, and it was Lloyd Sam who provided the late dramatics with a last-minute goal. Sam slipped a shot under the heroic Bill Hamid as the spirited match at Red Bull Arena neared its conclusion, giving New York a relieving 1-0 victory over a stubborn D.C. side that refused to let up despite losing Fabian Espindola to a straight red card in the 32nd minute.
That the Red Bulls needed a 90th-minute strike to come out victorious was down to a combination of their poor finishing, United throwing numbers back and some incredible saves from the stellar Hamid. But New York ultimately got the full three points they were seeking and resolutely moved back into a playoff spot as a result.
“It shows some resilience,” said goalkeeper Luis Robles. “Obviously, this season has been a roller coaster of a ride and there’s been moments where we would be winning and we give up a late goal or something of that nature. To have it work out for us, it’s not only a good feeling but it’s very satisfying.
“Now, we have a little momentum and we have to make sure we capitalize on it.”
The Red Bulls have some much-needed confidence to go along with that momentum. In a season in which the only consistent thing about New York has been their inconsistency, the club now has consecutive victories for the first time since defeating the Philadelphia Union and Houston Dynamo back in April.
New York are also above .500 at 9-8-10 and have their first shutout since a 2-0 win at the New England Revolution on June 8, a stretch of 12 games in which the defense has come under the microscope due to its error-prone ways.
“To me the best thing that happened tonight was the clean sheet,” said Dax McCarty, who was on the receiving end of the foul that led to Espindola’s ejection. “Being a midfielder and being a guy that takes pride in helping our defense out, I haven’t been very happy with us defensively. We just seem to concede the softest goals every game and it’s really frustrating.
“Tonight, we limited them. Luis maybe had one or two saves – I don’t even know if it was that many – but it’s satisfying. We have to build off these performances.”
The chance to do so will come quick, as the Red Bulls visit the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Both teams are still jockeying for playoff positions, so the Red Bulls will have to dig deep again in order to extend their winning streak to an unprecedented three games in their third match in an eight-day span.
“It’s the money time in the season,” said Sam. “It feels great to get back-to-back wins, and obviously we’re going to Philly this weekend. It doesn’t get any easier - that’s always a tough game over there – but we owe them one, too, from the last time.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
