Gonzalo Veron nearly saved the New York Red Bulls season before an own goal stole the show in the 91st minute.
The own goal erased the Argentinian Designated Player’s fourth goal of the season to give the Red Bulls a 3-3 draw against D.C. United.
Veron’s shift was perhaps his best as a Red Bull, remaining active in front of goal, setting up his teammates and scoring another penalty kick.
With the score tied 2-2, Veron started a counter attack from deep within the Red Bulls half following a corner. As he broke up field, he forced Paul Arriola to make a tackle, which the U.S. Men’s National Team player missed. In the 78th minute, Veron fired a short run up past Steve Clark.
It was undone, however, by a late own goal from Fidel Escobar.
Patrick Mullins nearly stole the headlines again, scoring his fifth goal of the season to stick a dagger in the hearts of Red Bulls supporters in the 70th minute. After some confusion at the top of the box, the ball deflected to Mullins in behind the Red Bulls defense. The striker calmly passed the ball into the net to give United the lead.
While D.C. United has struggled this season, execution has been a big problem for the Red Bulls over the last month and change since losing Daniel Royer. The Red Bulls took advantage of United’s defensive struggles to get looks to players other than Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips to some positive results.
Tyler Adams energized the Red Bulls with a thunderous volley in the first half for his first professional goal. Connor Lade’s cross eluded the myriad of attackers in the box and made its way to Adams. The teenager controlled the ball with his chest and then fired home a rocket past Clark in the 18th minute.
Adams added to his goal tally in the 73rd minute. Connor Lade chased down a deflected shot and fed the ball back into the six-yard box. The ball deflected out to Adams, his low shot snuck through a crowd in front of Steve Clark and into the net.
The goodwill of the first half was undone by a very late equalizer by Zoltán Stieber. Stieber’s free kick deflected through the box and past Luis Robles who saw it late. The equalizer was nearly the last kick of the first half.
The Red Bulls (12-11-7) inch closer to the playoffs with the draw and Montreal Impact’s loss, though they are certainly backing in if they qualify. For United (9-17-5) it is a gutsy draw for a team mostly looking forward to 2018.
Man of the Match
Tyler Adams gets the nod for the double, just barely edging out Veron, who was a game changer for the Red Bulls.
Moment of the Match
Gonzalo Veron’s sprint that led to the his penalty was a sight to behold, but the late own goal doomed the hosts to a mere point.
Match to Forget
Damien Perrinelle. Despite the Red Bulls offense firing, Perrinelle seems a step slow and out of sync with the rest of the team.