HARRISON, NJ — The New York Red Bulls broke Chivas Guadalajara’s hearts by scoring with the last kick of the match in a 1-0 win at the Sports Illustrated Stadium on Thursday night.
Emil Forsberg stepped up with a captain’s goal in the 90+7th minute of injury time, sliding a free kick won just outside the box underneath the Chivas wall to win RBNY’s first Leagues Cup match.
The teams were evenly matched throughout the match, where each Red Bulls defender was equal to the long ball over the top or diagonal switch to either winger, Efrain Alvarez or Robert Alvarado.
“The second half was, for me, very good when keeping the intensity against the ball,” Schwarz said in his post-match press conference. “When you’re in the game, you have to keep the focus, the intensity, then you have the chance also to win.”
AJ Marcucci started in goal for the first time since the Red Bulls’ May U.S. Open Cup win against FC Dallas. The American replaced regular Carlos Coronel in goal.
He was the busier of the two goalkeepers in the first half, coming outside of his own box twice to clear a ball away from an oncoming Chivas attack. The 26-year-old also made an acrobatic, fingertip save to deny a long-range effort from former New York City FC midfielder Richard Ledezma.
Thirty-two-year-old Tim Parker earned his first start in the backline since May as well. Head coach Sandro Schwarz rested former Bundesliga duo captain Emil Forsberg and Eric Chuopo-Moting, opting for 17-year-old Julian Hall and 20-year-old Mohammed Sofo to lead the line.
“Our starting offensive lineup was so young,” Schwarz said. “They are working so hard without the ball,, and it was a really good experience for these guys. We need this for the whole group.”
The Sports Illustrated Stadium felt more like an away match for New York, as the Chivas fanatics covered the upper deck behind Raúl Rangel’s goal in red, white and green tifos and a cacophony of “Chivas” cheers.
Each Rojiblancos touch was cheered, and each Red Bulls foul committed jeered, loudly.
The Red Bulls looked energetic in the opening moments, forcing Guadalajara back to goalkeeper Raúl Rangel a few times, but it was Chivas who had the first real chance of the match.
Playing around the New York press, Chivas got themselves up the pitch and in front of the opposition goal in four swift passes, forcing a good save out of Marcucci in the sixth minute.
Referee Lukasz Szpala had to be substituted off for fourth official Guido Gonzales Jr. a few minutes later after falling over a Red Bulls player.
With five minutes left in the first half, Sofo was played in goal, needing to just beat Rangel for New York’s best chance of the half. The Ghanaian opted to lob the keeper, but did not get enough lift behind it.
He put the ball in the back of the net 10 minutes after the half-time break, but the goal was ruled offside. The in-swinging corner was glanced off a New York head towards Sofo at the back-post, but he was deemed just beyond the last man, despite his many protests to the referee.
Chivas came roaring back almost immediately, finding a well-worked opportunity in the 55th minute. Another diagonal switch to the right wing found Alvarado in space and Marcucci extended his right arm to push the ball away from the ensuing shot.
As the deadlock remained, Schwarz brought on Chuopo-Moting and Forsberg to try and change the game. However, the Mexican team always looked the likelier of the two sides to score.
José Castillo continually bombed down the right flank and looked for crosses toward substitute striker Armando González. A few came close, but none more so than the 88th-minute chance where the ball was played just over González’s head.
Sofo, the brightest spark in RBNY’s arsenal all day, could have scored the winner on a counterattack in the 94th minute, but his weak shot barely caused Rangel any trouble.
He did win the free kick a minute later, after he was hacked down right outside the penalty box, and Forsberg took the chance to send his team through.
“It was a great fight from our team,” Schwarz said. “It’s a really good feeling, not only for the result, but more for the performance and the intensity.”
The Red Bulls face Monterrey next in the Leagues Cup on Sunday at the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
