Photo by Andy Marlin/Â USA Today Sports
By RYAN TOLMICH
HARRISON, N.J. —For the second time in four days, the New York Red Bulls put forth a convincing victory over a local rival.
Led by goals from Sal Zizzo, Anatole Abang, Sacha Kljestan and Mike Grella, the Red Bulls topped the visiting New York Cosmos, 4-1, in Wednesday night’s U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 clash at Red Bull Arena.
With the victory, the Red Bulls pick up their second win over local opposition in four days after toppling New York City FC on Sunday. In addition, the Red Bulls earned some revenge following last season’s U.S. Open Cup defeat to the Cosmos while also booking a matchup with the Philadelphia Union in the tournament’s quarterfinal stage.
Meanwhile, the Cosmos’ defeat sees the last remaining non-MLS team knocked out of the tournament.
After seeing Zizzo’s opener canceled out by a Lucky Mkosana response, the Red Bulls never looked back after Abang’s finish in the 43rd minute.
On a corner kick from Kljestan, Abang rose above the Cosmos defense on the near post, smashing a header for the Red Bulls’ second goal of the evening.
Just seven minutes into the second half, Kljestan iced the game from the penalty spot after miscommunication at the back cost the Cosmos.
With the ball in no man’s land, Hunter Gorskie found himself waiting for help as Red Bulls fullback Chris Duvall swooped in to win possession. Duvall was fouled shortly after, earning his side a penalty kick that Kljestan buried right down the middle, giving the Red Bulls the two-goal advantage that would prove to be enough to maintain the victory.
It took the Red Bulls just five minutes to jump on the visiting Cosmos, as Zizzo provided the opening goal before either team could even find a flow.
Zizzo’s finish was created by a returning Lloyd Sam, who missed last week’s clash with NYCFC due to injury. Played out wide on the right, Sam played a pinpoint cross into the center of the box and onto the head of Zizzo, who headed across his body and into the far post for the game’s first goal.
The Cosmos responded just nine minutes later, as a mis-clearance from the Red Bulls backline saw Mkosana capitalize for the game’s equalizer.
Kickstarted by a Jimmy Maurer ball down the right sideline, Cosmos midfielder Walter Restrepo drove at the Red Bulls backline before pinging a pass off centerback Matt Miazga. Cosmos forward Leo Fernandes slid the loose ball first-time to Mkosana, who finished from close range to restore the level scoreline.
Things remained even for a majority of the first half as both teams created before Abang stepped up to give the Red Bulls lead going into halftime.
From that point, the Cosmos had their chances, the best of which came in the 63rd minute only to be denied by a pair of posts.
Charging in from the right in the 63rd minute, a ball in for substitute Raul was headed straight off the crossbar and back into play. The loose ball fell to Mkosana, whose shot caromed off the far post and out, sparing the Red Bulls from a nervy finish.
That finish was avoided due to goals from Kljestan and Grella, whose 90th minute dribble and rocket to the far post put a major exclamation on a Red Bulls win over their local rivals.
However, the victory would not be without a cost, as Duvall was stretchered off in the 87th minute after a 50-50 tackle in the midfield, putting a bit of a damper on the Red Bulls victory.
With the win, the Red Bulls advance to a quarterfinal clash with the Union, who knocked off D.C. United on Tuesday night to advance.
In league play, the Red Bulls return Saturday with a trip to the Columbus Crew. Meanwhile, the Cosmos turn their focus towards league play, kicking off the NASL Fall Season at home against Indy Eleven on Sunday.
nasl fan – the nasl will be folded in a couple years, any good players will sign with MLS teams from here on out, the good franchises are also going to MLS, and the remaining will go to USL. The corrupt traffic money will stop. As stated above, nasl was 0-7 against the uSL – maybe the cosmos should get promoted up to the USL.
another reason why MLS is obviously the top league and teams in the country, and the future of soccer. To support US soccer’s future, support MLS – nasl was 0-7 vs usl – come on now…
Nahhh. No Thanks. Cuz MLS is Wack!
well agree that the 0-7 stat for nasl vs usl is telling – meaning you can take all your pro-rel/fake independent club type MLS hating to the trash bin.
MLS is the future of soccer in the US, support your MLS team to move the game further in the US.
No great players will be with the Cosmos, any player worth something in the NY area would want to sign up with REd Bulls or NYC, not some B team playing on turf lax field in long island.
If mls is great why is it propped up by USSF?
NY is RED!
4K people in long island can stay green on that turf field, but anyone else who wants to follow decent teams and play in this country should support Red Bulls or NYCFC.
nasl was 0-7 vs the USL, so maybe they should be crying for pro/rel like the cosmos do, either way MLS is growing too much year over year, sponsorships and tv contracts increasing, etc. – no good players would want to be at the nasl over time, and the people who run that league are criminals.
Tanner, I’ll refer you to my previous post about nonsense.
I gotta admit–You did make me laugh though when you decided for the rest of us who we should all support if we love the game in this country and by the wide brush that you used to describe an entire league.
Thanks.
Thanks for taking time from stealing lunch money of kids soccer clubs to post.
Bush League mls#
If mls is so interested in developing soccer in this country why is stealing money from small soccer academies that are developing soccer players? Please explain.
The better team won. Good game but the score tells it all. Sorry to see Duvall got hurt – why he even went in for that tackle when the game was decided nobody knows. Hope he is alright.
NY is Red!
Lucky Mkosana was clearly offside on the Cosmos’ first and only goal.
I read above that MLS paid the refs, so it makes sense they would blow a call like that.
So it wasn’t just me who thought that, huh?
Hahah you kids! Can’t yousee his name is Lucky!! You Kids these days!
Lucky Mkosana was clearly offside on the Cosmos’ first goal.
walk with god, cosmos!
and i would NOT want to be the Indy Eleven on Sunday.
Exciting hard fought game. Credit to both fan bases for bringing lots of noise.
Sorry to see Restrepo and Duvall get injured as both were having good games.
There were Cosmos fans at the game? The stream didn’t show any! Lol, #bushleaguemls
Yeah, there were a decent number of Cosmos fans at the game. I thought they did well keeping up the noise even though their team was falling apart.
Shame about Duvall, I thought he was having his best game as a Red Bull.
Ordinarily I root for upsets in these tournaments, but all the MLS-hating from the NASL Fan(s) has really soured me on the Cosmos and the NASL in particular. They act like MLS is the big bad corporation, as if the NASL would be some kind of non-profit despite the fact that it’s basically run by Traffic sports. The “our corporate model is more authentic than your corporate model” crap is just so phony. NONE of these clubs are grassroots driven organizations like existed in England 120 years ago. So stop faking it.
You can hate some of the quirky rules about MLS’ single entity structure, but these MLS owners and this structure has done wonders for the stable development of the league here. Yes there is parity, and yes there are playoffs, and guess what: a lot of people like it. A lot of people don’t mind the NFL Model. Personally I like the game of soccer for the game, not just because it’s something “international” or “euro” — I’m not trying to duplicate the European leagues here, I’m looking for a sustainable model that will allow the game to establish a national foothold and thrive here — and that means competitive teams in markets around the country and not some cosmos super club and 20 dwarves like you have in European leagues.
Anyway, I pretty much actively root against the NASL now because of the phony smugness of their fans. Hope you enjoyed the loss tonight MLS haters.
don’t hate me Pedro! I Love you!!
Seconded by another DCU fan. I’ll root for the Pink Cows over any NASaL outfit.
A DC fan here. I follow both leagues and some other US based leagues.
Pedro, live your life, Bro. Feel what you feel. Personally, if I was swayed by a lot of the nonsense, I hate MLS because of a lot of arrogant nonsense spouted by it’s fans–especially in reference to the NASL.
But nonsense is nonsense and I don’t pay it much mind. I just like what I like and ignore the foolishness. I want to see ALL of our leagues do well.
But to each their own…
I rooted for Charlotte, because I love NASL and who doesn’t love a good upset. But the MLS hating posters here have ruined rooting for the Cosmos’s upset. It is impossible.
Read the weekly posts on NASL. None of them follow NASL, there are zero posts almost every article. It is 100% just a hating for MLS.
One of the trolls called me insufferable. LOL.
Hey, people roof for who they want. Part of my point was that I know a lot of obnoxious and arrogant MLS fans and many of them post here, on SBI.
There are also a lot of people who have joined what I jokingly call the “Cult of the Cosmos” and the “NASL Revolutionary Front”.
It mostly seems kind of ridiculous to me.
Ohh I think you are on the wrong sport.
Cosmos are a traveling circus. Harlem Globetrotters of US soccer.
Kid you watch too much MLS All Stars!!
Hey SBI!!
Olè Olè Olè Cosmos!! Cosmos!!!
New York Cosmos still the best of NY!!!
New Jersey dosnt count!!
LOL
How many lols are you going to type out? I would hate to see how you would react if your team won, geez.
my bad.. I had some beers tonite.
Lol LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
Is that better?? Lol
Ole ole ole Cosmos Cosmos!!
Yeah it’s going to take a lot of drinks to forget that drumming tonight…
This guy is an insufferable clown but I’ll give him credit. Unlike the other 2 or 3 Hempstead fans, he’s not hiding after his team’s resounding defeat.
Yo! Check you name kid! Your name is funny!
Mr. Slow
Where in NYC is your stadium? I’d much rather take the PATH from Manhattan to Harisson than go to ‘gisland. Rep that state. Go Bills.
Glad to get a win, rest some guys during this busy stretch and shut up Hempstead fanboys for at least a year.
HARRISON, N.J. — For the second time in less than a week, the New York Red Bulls used a second-half flurry to eviscerate a local rival.
HARRISON, N.J – Harrison, New Jersey…
Something, something throwing stones in a glass house something, something. I’m not a fan of NASL and like MLS but you pointing out “Hempstead” as if it’s some slight while ignoring where MLS clubs play make you sound and look ridiculous.
Comparing RBA, one of the best SSS in the country, with a college lacrosse stadium is ridiculous. I assume the reason Restrepo kept falling over was that he wasn’t used to playing on a well manicured grass field.
I actually like having the stadium in NJ since it’s easier for me to get to. The area around the stadium is slowly building up and the experience of attending games there will improve.
#ijerkwithmyleft … next time get the stadium in New York!! Lol
New Jersey Red Balls!!! “Red Balls” Cuz they never win anything!!! Lol.. is a New Jersey thing! Ah! Didn’t they won some Guinness Cup or something like that??? Lol
It’s actually pronounced Supporters’ Shield.
HAhaha… thATS like been East ChaMPs! HAha
my bad I don’t follow MLS.. so I didn’t know they were East Champs… haha!!
Actually, it’s the regular season champion of both the East and the West, and we got a nice shiny trophy and a trip to the CCL. Topping both the East and the West in points was helped by us getting to play lots of terrible East teams.
Running with your mistake, we did actually top the East on three separate occasions (one year in which there were 3 conferences) but nobody counts those. We somehow got a little trophy for getting to the MLS Cup out of the West, that is also not really counted. Don’t ask how that one happened.
It was good to see your team get mauled tonight.
let me see… how many Championships does the Cosmos have?
Before there was the Real Madrid! The Cosmos were the first Galacticos!!
Ole! Cosmos!!
I think the question is how many trophies have the Cosmos won that actually could for anything? I’m willing to say any, ANY, MLS team would run the NASL without sweating.
Pretty sure Real Madrid had won 5 or 6 European Cups before the old Cosmos even existed.
Oh Noooo we lost to NEW JERSEY RED BALLS!!! LOL
Now Us Cup ratings will go down.. MLS doesn’t care about the Cup…
COSMOS COSMOS COSMOS!!!
Sidenote: reading Javier Hernandez broke his clavicle in the Mexico/Honduras match (and that puts him out for the Gold Cup).
Cosmos fan here and I thought RBNY looked great and I have no problems with the ref at all.
The Cosmos were the better team for about 20 minutes, but Red Bull were a more polished and professional side. Things like a blown coverage leaving Zisso wide open or Gorskie losing track of the player behind him. Details
Still love Cosmos, looking forward to the future, but I got nothing bad or gripey to say about tonights match.
(unlike last year’s travesty at philly)
last year the referee was baddd!!!
This year was the worst!! just saying.. I didn’t agree with maNY of his calls!
Good game New Jersey Red Balls!! Lol
Agree with Giorgio. Why did Gio change the line-up.
Agree with NASL_Fan too, but unlike Philly game, ref didnt decide this one.
I was really impressed with Restrepo. Too bad he got injured. I was pulling for the Cosmos, but they did look a half step behind most of the game. Kljestan and McCarty dominated the midfield and kept the Cosmos attack from getting anything going forward.
well said brother. But you can’t have those mental lapses against a team liken thenRedbulls who were coming into this match running on all cylinderrs. We have to get stronger on defense. as much as I love Mendez, I think they made a mistake giving him an extentsion.
I love my Cosmos!! Good job!!
That game was BS!! New Jersey Red Balls were playing with 12 guys!! 11 players + the referee!!
MLS had payed the referee!!
no fauls called. Penal that didn’t exist. Wasting time. Referee sucks!! He got payed!!
NY Cosmos still the best Nitches!!
I remember the same sob story when you went out to Philly last season. Just like everything else you post – it’s old.
listen ijerkwithmyleft … ironically… its the same story with MLS paying the referee good $$$..
Lol… ijerkwithmyleft… lol
Refs always get paid. You think we’d do this because we like it? It’s all about the Hamiltons, baby.
Still waiting on those big signings. Looks like you still need at least 3 goals worth, then you can rely on pks, again.
Waaaaaaaaah. It was a good game and I think closer then the scoreline let on.
Please – clearly a PK
Shame to see the NASL teams that far behind a very mediocre NYRB team.
Extasy at the chance of not seeing the MLS-hating-fake Cosmos fans posting until next year.
yeah its easy to win when you have the referee on your side…
That’s shows how dirty MLS is!!
Stop whining about what people say about MLS.
Lol His name is so stupid…! Lol whining nitch
The kid looks for any excuse to talk bad about anything other than MLS. He’s fighting a one man crusade.
Kid? I am old enough to be a grandfather to most posters.
I dont get your post
One man crusade hoping NASL gets better? I doubt it. Not many care, but US soccer is building.
One man cusade hoping to get rid of the fake-MLS hating Cosmos fans. Not in a million years.
Yes – one man crusade to defend the honor of MLS. You sound like Don Garber trying to manufacture rivalries in a hollow fashion.
Your constant whining is insufferable.
HAhahaha!!
+10!!!
Insufferable. That’s a great word for what NASL_fan is. However I doubt it would be Garber. He has more important things to do, like having new teams pay the $100 Million joining fee.
Yeah ok Brad Pitt!
The alternative take is, the only incumbent first division team in NY beat up on the expansion side and the local minor league team, which is how it should be.
So I guess this is the end of the world championship talk for the Cosmos for this year.