Brian White slotted in a sliding finish off of a Kaku cross in the 32nd minute, and the New York Red Bulls used some desperate defending and kind bounces off the woodwork to see out a 1-0 win over Orlando City SC on Sunday evening at Exploria Stadium.
Luis Robles made four saves to preserve his fifth shutout of the season and help the Red Bulls move above D.C. United into third place in the Eastern Conference on the second tiebreak of goal difference.
Carlos Ascues, Tesho Akindele and Sacha Kljestan all hit the woodwork after halftime for Orlando, which lost at home for the sixth time this season, just three days after mostly a second unit gutted out an impressive 1-1 draw at the Portland Timbers.
Goals
- 32' - RBNY - Brian White | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Played in the typically oppressive Central Florida summer conditions after both teams had already played on the road in midweek, Sunday's match was more of a test of character than class. It's perhaps unfair to say Orlando failed it with the chances they mustered after halftime. But with their resolute defending, the Red Bulls most certainly passed.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: After the Lions had already struck the woodwork twice, there must have been some in purple who began to suspect it just wasn't going to happen after this wacky 76th-minute sequence.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Sacha Kljestan. Orlando hit another gear when he entered in the 66th minute. While it's fair to say the Lions weren't clinical enough in the final third, sometimes it's just not your night. And you had the feeling it might've been Kljestan's with 15 more minutes.
Up Next
- ORL: Saturday, July 27 at New England Revolution (7 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US and DAZN in Canada)
- RBNY: Saturday, July 27 vs. Columbus Crew SC (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US and DAZN in Canada)
