The New York Red Bulls secured a 4-2 victory at home in the Sports Illustrated Stadium on a weeknight matchup against Charlotte FC to clinch their third win in succession in all competitions.
New York climbed to seventh in the Eastern Conference, ahead of cross-town rivals New York City FC, which lost to Houston 3-0. It was also its eighth consecutive victory against Charlotte.
Wiktor Bogacz, Mohammed Sofo, and Eric Maxim Chuopo-Moting, with two penalties, secured the win for the red side of New York.
The Red Bulls looked the brighter of the two sides in the first 10 minutes as both teams looked to play down their right-hand side. New York was the first to successfully do so and score with their first shot on target in the 14th minute.
New York worked it out wide to Kyle Duncan, who slipped in Bogacz between two Charlotte defenders. With two touches — one to set himself, and the other a wonderful outside-of-the-foot shot — the 6’4” Polish striker scored his first goal for the club on his first start. The shot nestled in Kristijan Kahlina’s near post.
The Red Bulls kept the momentum, with Sofo and Peter Stroud unable to find the back of the net with shots in the following minutes. Although the center-back pair of Sean Nealis and Noah Eile had kept Charlotte quiet with one shot thus far, the Crown found a response in the 26th minute through Kerwin Calderón Vargas after recovering the ball in midfield.
Some quick one-touch passing down the left wing left New York’s midfield in a scramble, and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty crossed a dangerous box across the Red Bulls’ box toward Patrick Agyemang. Although Charlotte’s top scorer couldn’t control it, Vargas stayed on his toes to tuck in the rebound first time.
Charlotte’s lead barely lasted four minutes as the in-form Sofo continued his goal streak with a disguised, first-time flick past Kahlina in the 29th minute. The 20-year-old notched his seventh goal in 11 matches while Wikelman Carmona, who has started all but two games for New York this season, got his first assist for the season after picking up a loose ball on the left wing.
The Ghanaian was confident all first-half, always a willing runner, and ready to take on his defender. An ambitious roulette move to get past league veteran Eyrck Williamson in the 41st minute didn’t come off, but it highlighted Sofo’s confidence as his scoring run continued.
The rain continued to pour as New York continued where they left off after the break. Sofo again found himself one-on-one with a Charlotte defender, but his shot only hit the side-netting.
Wilfried Zaha was left frustrated all night, with his three shots barely troubling Carlos Coronel. It came to a head in the 64th minute when he tried to take down a cross on the left wing, but a heavy second touch allowed Nealis to sneak in for the steal. The former Crystal Palace and Manchester United winger could only stop the center-back with a shirt pull, which he was promptly booked for.
The Red Bulls kept pushing for a two-goal lead and earned a penalty after referee Drew Fischer was sent to the monitor to check if Andrew Privett’s booking — the game and Charlotte’s third yellow card — was inside the penalty box. After a kerfuffle between both sets of players, Fischer deemed the foul inside and awarded the penalty in the 70th minute.
Chuopo-Moting stepped up with a cheeky panenka down the middle, making it 3-1 to New York. The goal extended his lead as Red Bull’s top scorer with his eighth of the season.
Charlotte attempted to respond immediately, but substitute Liel Abada’s cross to Zaha was too heavy. Zaha stuck both hands out, indicating a pass to his feet would have been enough.
Abada had another header saved a few minutes later, but pulled one back for the Crown in the 76th minute with a chance he was never going to miss. Fellow substitute Tyger Smalls dashed through two Red Bulls defenders to set up a shot that Coronel saved with an extended left leg, but the resulting rebound found Abada with an open net four yards out to tap in.
New York looked nervy in the following minutes as Charlotte pushed for the equalizer — Smalls had another shot tipped over the crossbar shortly after. It got Sandro Schwarz to step out of his seat to manage the end of the game, immediately substituting Carmona for defender Alexander Hack. Zaha, who moved into a more central position with Smalls coming on, almost scored the equalizer from a cross down the Red Bulls’ left flank in the 90+3rd minute, but was beaten to the header by Hack and cleared.
Red Bulls sealed the win with a second penalty of the game in the 90+5th minute, won by substitute Cameron Harper. The 23-year-old was brought down by Adilson Malanda after Chuopo-Moting won the flick-on header. Chuopo-Moting converted again to make it one goal away from double digits with 16 played this season.
