Top Stories

Wright-Phillips dagger sends Red Bulls to U.S. Open Cup semifinals

 

Photo by Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Red Bulls advanced to the semifinal of the U.S. Open Cup for the first time since 2003, while winning back-to-back games in New England against the Revolution for the first time ever.

The Red Bulls left it late once again, scoring the winner in the 87th minute. Bradley Wright-Phillips beat the Revs’ backline on a pass from Felipe and finished low past Brad Knighton to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 win. For the second time in as many games, the Red Bulls earned a rare and valuable road win against a team that has been the bane of their road form for years.

The Revolution started the game well and had a flurry of dangerous opportunities early, but failed to create good chances from those opportunities, something that would haunt them throughout the match. Ryan Meara did well for the visitors to cut out the many crosses and chips the Revolution played, keeping the match level.

The Red Bulls found more and more of the match throughout the first half. Bradley Wight-Phillips, Sacha Kljestan, and Felipe all had good looks at goal but were unable to convert thanks to some big saves from Knighton.

The match was a physical affair from both sides and included seven cards, four for the Revolution, and three for the Red Bulls. The Revolution went down a man in the 75th minute when Benjamin Angoua was sent off for violent conduct following a foul on Bradley Wright-Phillips. The man advantage was exploited by the Red Bulls leading up to Wright-Phillips’s winner.

The Red Bulls will now wait to find out who their opponent will be in the semifinal as Miami and FC Cincinnati postponed their match due to thunderstorms on Wednesday. The Red Bulls last trip to the semifinal of the U.S. Open Cup saw them advance to the final after defeating D.C. United 3-2. They went on to lose the final to the Chicago Fire, 1-0, on a goal from Damani Ralph.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ryan Meara kept the Revs attack at bay all night and kept a dangerous team from effectively crossing into the box.

MATCH TO FORGET

Benjamin Angoua let his temper take over and let his team down in the process after what was an otherwise solid performance.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Bradley Wight-Phillips let an otherwise unremarkable shift go and produced a moment of magic with his goal in the 87th minute to steal the win for the Red Bulls.

Comments

Leave a Comment