The New York Red Bulls were left frustrated with a 2-2 draw at home to Minnesota United on Saturday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Trailing 2-1 for the majority of the second half despite dominating possession, Eric Maxim Chuopo-Moting got the all-important equalizer in the 90th minute of the match. It provided a massive sigh of relief for a side that has not lost a game at the Sports Illustrated Stadium since April.
“I would say the first 10,15 minutes was great, and then after this injury from the goalkeeper, then we lost the control in the first half,” said Schwarz. “I’m very happy about that we didn’t lose this game, to be honest, against the opponent and against more other guys.
It could have been more when Forsberg led the Red Bulls out for a counter-attack in the fifte minute of second-half stoppage time, but referee Ricardo Montero blew the final whistle, which got Schwarz immediately out of his seat and running to confront Montero along with the rest of his team for ending the match before the attacking play finished. Schwarz received a red card for his effort, which means he will be banned from the touchline for the Red Bulls’ next match against San Jose.
“In this game, it has to be allowed to criticize the referee, when they are not doing a good performance,” said Schwarz. “They got the corner after four minutes. We solved the situation after that clear chance for Minnesota. Then we have a transition, and then they stop it. This is not possible when you are fighting for this for the group. When someone is not good, then we have to say something. This is normal. The red card is not good but I have the responsibility for the group. I’m not on the touchline next Saturday, but it’s not possible to say nothing.”
The stadium was packed for Marvel Superhero night, and New York had three shots before Duncan played in Chuopo-Moting over the top, which left just Minnesota captain Michael Boxall and goalkeeper Wessel Speel to beat. Both Loons players attempted to block the shot, but the ball squeezed out for Emil Forsberg to tap into the net from six yards out.
Speel was injured from the collision and had to come off nine minutes later for Alec Smir to make his second appearance of the season for Minnesota.
The late-first-half collapse for New York started with some clever, improvised play from Joaquin Pereyra, who looped the ball over a Red Bull defender to play in Kelvin Yeboah and got Minnesota their equalizer in the 32nd minute. The striker showed composure, sitting down Omar Valencia to finish in the far corner.
Boxall’s long throw proved to be a threat for the Red Bulls’ defence, as Anthony Markanich scored from the set-piece to go ahead right before the half-time break. The ball fell kindly to Markanich and he seized the chance with a strong right-footed volley, sending the few Minnesota fans who made the 1,182-mile trip off their seats. It was against the run of play and silenced the Sports Illustrated Stadium crowd for the first time that night.
Schwarz made the first pair of changes on the night in the 58th minute, bringing on Wikel Carmona and Ronald Donkor for Serge Ngoma and Felipe Carballo. The substitution marks the end of Carballo’s loan for NYRB, as he is set to return to parent club Gremio, in the Brasileiro Série A.
Smir made a fantastic reflex save to deny Chuopo-Moting at point-blank range in the 62nd minute. Replays showed Chuopo-Moting might have been kicked in the face, which got the home fans clamoring for a VAR check, to no avail.
Markanich and Minnesota had a chance to make it three, as the defender saw his back-post header hit the post in the 76th minute.
New York continued to press on, and Duncan’s searching ball into the middle of the box found Chuopo-Moting, who instinctively reached out a leg to poke the ball past Smir for his 11th goal of the season.
“To get one point was important for us, but we always want to win at home, and now we gotta collect the points away,” said Forsberg. “We haven’t been the best at that, but we have to pull out something there next weekend.”
