Red Bulls Come Away With Another Tie in Match Against Austin FC

New York Red Bulls, Professional, Soccer

September 21, 2023

Another game, another tie. The New York Red Bulls (7-12-10) failed to get the three points they so desperately needed, but were able to come away with at least one in a 1-1 tie against Austin FC (9-13-7).

New York opened up the game with high energy and a hunger for a much-needed win. The Red Bulls had eight shots in the first half alone and totaled 16 (four on goal) throughout the game. Their lone goal was an own goal from Austin after defender John Tolkin sent a free kick into the box to forward Dante Vanzeir.

Austin’s Emiliano Rigoni deflected Vanzeir’s shot into the back of the net to give the Red Bulls the lead in the seventh minute. Vanzier shortly after came off the pitch after suffering an injury from a collision with an opposing player with Omir Fernandez, New York’s top goal scorer, replacing him.

Despite their energy and momentum that carried them in the first half, New York was put down in the 45th minute after midfielder Sebastian Driussi scored the equalizer. This last-minute goal was Austin’s only shot on goal for the entire 90 minutes, but was enough to earn them a point.
New York’s Head coach Troy Lesesne shared his thoughts.

“You could chalk it up to being unlucky, but we’re not going to do that here,” Lesesne said. “We had chances to go up 2-0, 3-0, didn’t take them, and then we don’t defend well. A really good attack and we don’t have our rest defense in the right order to counter-press and so they [Austin FC] just play into space and one silly moment like that allows them to have a set piece, and now we still have an opportunity to defend it and we didn’t do that. We have ourselves to look out and be accountable for and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

New York entered the second more frustrated rather than motivated as they were at kickoff. That frustration continued to grow as more opportunities came and went as they couldn’t find the back of the net again. The story of the season.
Tolkin had three shots on the night as well as two tackles. He added on four corner kick attempts as well, but none came to fruition.

“[We’re] frustrated, but with our heads held high,” Tolkin said. “We dominated for 90 minutes. It’s the story of the season right now. I put it on myself, I missed a few chances tonight. Overall though a pretty good performance. we’ll build on it.”

The Red Bulls are currently winless in seven of the last eight regular-season matches. New York sits five points below a playoff spot still with only five matches left to play.
Team captain Sean Nealis spoke on the result of the match.

“It was a good start from us, I think we just didn’t capitalize on the momentum,” Nealis said. “Austin kind of finished on the set piece there on us. We could’ve done a lot better in the game as a whole. We have another one Saturday against D.C. and it’s a team that’s sitting above us and could change things if we get three points there.”

The Red Bulls head to Washington D.C. to face D.C. United on Saturday, September 23. D.C. currently holds the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. A win on Saturday would put the Red Bulls just that much closer. With only five games left, wins are crucial for this New York team. They look to turn things around for a desperate push to make the playoffs.