In windy and cold conditions, the New York Red Bulls II faced the Hudson Valley Hammers in their first-round match-up in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at MSU Soccer Park in Montclair, New Jersey. The game was the first in U.S. Open Cup play for the Red Bulls II since their inaugural season of 2015 when they lost to Jersey Express Soccer Club, which certainly gave head coach Ibrahim Sekagya's club a little more pressure heading into this match.
Hudson Valley, a USL League Two team, came in as big underdogs against the Red Bulls II, who participate in MLS NEXT Pro. The atmosphere was buzzing at MSU Soccer Park and the Red Bulls supporters section could be heard cheering all game long. A solid crowd had come to cheer on the Hammers in this game as well.
They almost started cheering in the ninth minute when Hudson Valley put pressure on a Red Bulls defender, who coughed up the ball at midfield. Then, Hudson Valley's Ryan Petersen attempted a chip from about midfield that almost caught Bulls II goalkeeper Aidan Stokes off his line but the chip went wide of the left post and out of play for a goal kick.
In the 12th minute, Hudson Valley defender Dylan Evande was shown a straight red card for tripping Red Bulls II forward Mohammed Sofo, who would have had a breakaway. Three minutes later, the Baby Bulls got on the board when Sofo made a nice pass across the face of the goal to Dylan Sullivan, who tapped the ball into the open net for his first goal with the Red Bulls II.
Sullivan on the Doorstep ✊#USOC2024 | @NYRBII // @hvhammers pic.twitter.com/Fg6dUSRkHd
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) March 20, 2024
The Hammers managed to keep the Red Bulls II at bay for almost the rest of the first half, but in the 44th minute, the Baby Bulls struck again. This time, Red Bulls II midfielder Aiden Jarvis's shot from outside the box was spilled by the Hudson Valley goalkeeper, resulting in a loose ball that was smashed into the upper ninety by Sofo.
Despite being down 2-0, the visitors from New York didn't fade away. In fact, the Hammers held their own for the remainder of the first half and kept the Baby Bulls' stampeding offense at bay.
Second Half
The game picked up where it left off in the first half; The Baby Bulls had more possession and controlled the game as they were up a man. However, Hudson Valley gave the Red Bulls a bit of a scare in the 46th minute. A Hudson Valley player headed the ball ahead for his teammate. The ball went over the head of a Red Bulls II defender, and Hudson Valley's Umana Maxariego eluded the defender and went in on a one-on-one. Red Bulls II goalkeeper Aidan Stokes came well off his line and made a quick save with his left arm to keep the visitors off the board.
Hudson Valley did an honorable job of defending for the next 15 minutes, but in the 62nd minute, Aiden Jarvis scored his first career goal for the Red Bulls II from inside the box to give the Baby Bulls a 3-1 lead.
In the 69th minute, 14-year-old Adri Mehmeti and Malick Dembele were subbed in for their pro debuts. A minute later, Mehmeti registered his first shot on goal, striking the ball from 25 yards out, which had to be parried away by the Hudson Valley goalkeeper.
Hudson Valley may have been down 3-0 at this point, but they continued to try, and it paid off in the 78th minute. Hudson Valley took a corner kick that got cleared out of the 18-yard box. When the clearance came out, it was picked up by one of their midfielders, who then played a ball over the top towards Red Bulls II's 18. One Hudson Valley player flicked the ball to Israel Neto, who was one-on-one with Bulls II goalkeeper Aidan Stokes. Stokes came off his line and dove to grab the ball, but Neto flicked it up in the air over Stokes and scored on a bicycle kick to make the scoreline 3-1.
In the 82nd minute, the Red Bulls II responded. Steven Sserwadda passed to Dembele inside the box, and the 20-year-old calmly finished with his left foot to give the Red Bulls II a commanding 4-1 lead. During stoppage time, the Baby Bulls got their fifth goal. Juan Mina took a shot that rattled off the crossbar and came right to Ibrahim Kasule's head, who then headed the ball into the net. The Red Bulls II won the game 5-1 and advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.
Cup Postgame Reactions from the Red Bulls II
After this cold, windy game, Red Bulls II head coach Ibrahim Sekagya reflected on the fact that 14-year-old Adri Mehmeti and 16-year-old Aidan Stokes made historic appearances for his team on the day. Stokes almost earned a clean sheet while being the youngest player to appear in a US Open Cup match for a New York Red Bulls team at 16 years, 2 months, and 6 days old.
They kept us in the game, we trusted them, and they have a bright future. This way we are here. We have to trust the young ones and they're demonstrating it themselves. This this is the first step. This was a big game for them.
One thing that's become clear about Red Bulls II soccer is that they never let up. In this game, they led 3-1 with ten minutes left to play but kept pushing and were able to score two more goals before the game ended.
This is our style of play. We needed more goals. We needed to go keep going. You can’t take your foot off the pedal. You just must think of getting more goals because these games you never know what can happen with these things. This is what we talked about. For them also they were in the game. Those players are professional and to play with our second team so that we needed to push for 90 minutes.
The win is the Red Bulls II's first in US Open Cup play. It remains to be seen who they will play in the second round.
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