photo by Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
HARRISON, N.J. — The top spot in the Eastern Conference is up for grabs.
The New York Red Bulls closed the gap between themselves and first-place D.C. United on Sunday, cruising to a 3-0 victory over their arch-rivals at Red Bull Arena. The win kept New York in third place in the East, but the club now trails D.C. by just two points with three games in hand.
Bradley Wright-Phillips led the way for Red Bulls with two goals and assist. His first finish was a superb volley in the opening stanza that stung into the top corner, and the second came in the 64th minute following an aerial pass from Sacha Kljestan.
It was mostly one-way traffic at Red Bull Arena, as New York came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid made a number of highlight-reel stops to prevent his side from falling behind, but he eventually surrendered the winner to Lloyd Sam.
In the 33rd minute, Wright-Phillips fed Sam on the right side of the penalty area with a ball that the midfielder tucked past an onrushing Hamid.
New York continued to pile on the pressure on D.C. after the opener, and found an insurance goal in the 42nd minute. Mike Grella collected a pass from Felipe on the right side of the penalty area, and clipped in a near-post cross that Wright-Phillips picked out of the air perfectly with a lethal volley.
The Red Bulls kept pushing for more, and Wright-Phillips put the game well out of reach shortly after the hour-mark. Kljestan caught Ben Olsen’s defense napping by hitting a 64th-minute ball over the top that a wide open Wright-Phillips raced onto before clinically burying past Hamid.
D.C. United could have gone down by three goals earlier in the second half, but Hamid reacted spectacularly to deny a close-ranger header from Grella in the 50th minute.
Hamid also came up with some very impressive stops before halftime. He stopped a low effort from Grella in the sixth minute, and also made himself big enough to keep Kljestan from tallying when the game was still scoreless.
Kljestan’s first real good chance came in the 12th minute when he dribbled into the penalty and fired a hard shot, but the onrushing Hamid made himself big and got in front of the ball.
The Red Bulls midfielder was denied again in the 30th minute, as Hamid shuffled his feet quickly to the right before pushing away a close-range header.
Chris Rolfe had D.C. United’s first shot on goal and one of its only good attempts in the 21st minute, hitting a free kick from 20 yards out that New York goalkeeper Luis Robles punched clear.
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What do you think about the Red Bulls’ 3-0 win over D.C. United? How impressed were you with Wright-Phillips’ performance? Is New York the best team in the East right now or is it still D.C.?
Share your thoughts below.
“The win kept New York in third place in the East…”. RBNY is in SECOND place; not third.
Always a pleasure, DC.
Red Bulls are in second in the east. Not third
Great game tonight. Without Hamid this game would have been 6-0 or more maybe. He was an animal in goal, saving so much. It couldn’t last though, the Red Bulls were that dominant tonight. Great turnout too!
RBNY looked fantastic, particularly Miazga and Grella. DC looked like an NASL team tonight; clearly they’re not that bad.
That goal from BWP off the Grella cross has to be GOTW.
I like this team a lot, but I’m baffled a little bit by three things: Sacha, Felipe, and Conor Lade. Sacha as Mr. Almost, so accurate. I suppose he’s doing work that I don’t notice? But it’s like he has a curse as soon as he gets in the box. And Felipe — he was better tonight than I’ve seen him play, but he’s just not strong enough if this team has to face Galaxy. Conor Lade, god bless him, is without question the weak link, the TImmy Lupus of the Red Bulls. Is there no other right back?
Finally: Shaun Wright-Phillips? And when does Verona start?
I suppose Marsch knows what he’s doing. At least he reduced Ben Olsen to irrational mess by the end of the game.
Great win for the Red Bulls. DC should be the SBi Team of the Weak!
Don’t agree with the previous post. Red Bulls have hardly been dominant. But I’m not complaining.
Sasha Klestjian is Mr. Almost.
Impressive win for NY. Marsh and NY have been surprisingly dominate this year.
*dominant. 😉