New York City FC II traveled across the Hudson River to Montclair University to face off against New York Red Bulls 2 on Sunday in MLS NEXT Pro play. This match marked the fourth time this calendar year the two sides met, with the previous encounters resulting in two wins for NYCFC II and one for Red Bulls 2.
The first of those matches was the 4-2 US Open Cup victory in which JJ Jimenez’s hat-trick propelled the Baby Blues on their cup run. While not as much was at stake in this match, both teams are jostling to secure playoff positions heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
Noah Kassell-Yung
Early red, early goal
The tone of the match was established early, whenNYCFC II goalkeeper Alex Rando chopped down the Red Bulls 2 attacker outside the box in the eighth minute of play. It was a red card even though Rando wasn’t the last player, and a heavy touch took the ball away from the net. Still, Rando was sent early to the showers, and there wasn’t much protest from the player himself.
Backup goalkeeper William Meyer, who was selected by Nashville SC in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft and spent the last two years with New York Red Bulls, stepped into Rando’s spot as the Baby Blues looked to play down a man for more than 80 minutes. NYCFC II immediately turned to the defensive game plan with counter-attack being funneled through Maximo Carrizo, Jonathan Shore, and JJ Jimenez.
In the 20th minute, a rare foray forward turned to gold when Piero Elias was chopped down in the box. He stepped up to take the penalty, which barely squeezed past 17-year-old keeper Alan Rutkowski to give the visitors a valuable 1-0 lead.
Parking the Bx13 bus...
The game fell into a rhythm in which the Baby Bulls would continuously pass around the box and whip in crosses that were well-defended. Meyer was forced into point-blank saves once in the first half and twice in the second.
On another occasion, Samuel Owusu misjudged a clearance that allowed Red Bulls prospect Julian Hall through one-on-one with Meyer. A late heavy touch allowed Meyer to snuff out the opportunity, but the pressure was relentless. Red Bulls 2 held 65% possession, took 25 shots, had six shots on target, and a whopping 37 crosses. By comparison, NYCFC II managed four shots, two on target, and one singular cross.
With minutes left in the match, JJ Jimenez latched onto a clearance and drove at the defense before unleashing a strike that struck the crossbar and went out. While his night ended on a sour note, he deserved that goal for his incredible work relieving pressure on multiple occasions. His ability to gather clearances and retain the ball often with two or three defenders was incredibly valuable for the Baby Blues on the night.
...then settling for 1 point
Jimenez’s strike would’ve secured the improbable win. Instead, the Baby Blues continued to defend. With only one minute left in additional time, Red Bulls 2’s Steven Sserwadda volleyed home a strike to tie the game up and finally break the Baby Blues defense. Red Bulls’ First team head coach Sandro Schwarz was in attendance for this match and leaped up to celebrate Sserwadda’s equalizer.
The subsequent penalty shootout saw JJ Jimenez miss the first spot kick. Red Bulls 2 went on to convert theirs and win the penalty shootout victory.
It was a brutal end to a heroic defensive performance, and a hard-fought point in the end.
