Roy Miller, Ruben Bover and Bradley Wright-Phillps scored, as the New York Red Bulls earned a 3-0 win over Eastern Conference rival, the Montreal Impact, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex as part of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic preseason tournament Saturday evening. The result moved the Red Bulls’ record in the eight-team competition to 1-1-0 (3 pts.).
New York returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 3:00 PM when it faces the Under-23 side of Brazilian club Fluminense in its third and final group match of the competition. The match will be streamed live on www.newyorkredbulls.com.
Montreal had a pair of chances in the opening 10 minutes, with Justin Mapp firing high of goal before Felipe’s shot from the top of the box was acrobatically tipped over the bar by New York goalkeeper Luis Robles. On the other end, after defender Richard Eckersley earned a foul, Thierry Henry’s free kick was nodded just wide by Dax McCarty in the 26th minute.
The Red Bulls broke the deadlock moments before the break. New York enjoyed extended pressure on Montreal’s net during the second portion of the opening 45 minutes and was rewarded, as Henry drove towards goal before playing a perfectly weighted through ball into the box. Miller got to it and chipped it in with his right foot over goalkeeper Evan Bush.
The Impact looked to tie the match and kept pressure on New York’s goal. Ten minutes into the second half, Felipe was inches away from equalizing when he curled a free kick over the Red Bulls’ wall and off of the top of the crossbar.
The Red Bulls wrapped up the result with two back-to-back goals. First, New York midfielder Lloyd Sam had possession of the ball on the right wing and found Bover at the top of the box. With space, Bover took a touch and rifled it into the top right corner of the net past Bush in the 68th minute. Soon after, Andre Akpan and Wright-Phillips, who both had just entered into the game, combined on New York’s third goal. Akpan got behind Montreal’s defense and dribbled into the box before sliding it to Wright-Phillips, who easily tapped it into the open net.
New York Red Bulls 3, Montreal Impact 0
February 22, 2014
MLS Preseason
Disney Pro Soccer Classic – ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Scoring Summary:
NY: Roy Miller 1 (Thierry Henry 1) 45’
NY: Ruben Bover 1 (Lloyd Sam 1) 68’
NY: Bradley Wright-Phillips 1 (Andre Akpan 1) 69’
Disciplinary Summary:
MTL: Collen Warner (caution) 35’
MTL: Andres Romeo (caution) 42’
NY: Dax McCarty (caution) 49’
MTL: Hernan Bernardello (caution) 50’
New York Red Bulls: Luis Robles (Ryan Meara 46’), Richard Eckersley (Kosuke Kimura 46’), Jamison Olave (Armando 63’), Ibrahim Sekagya (Matt Miazga 63’), Roy Miller (Ambroise Oyongo* 65’), Eric Alexander (Lloyd Sam 65’), Dax McCarty (Ruben Bover 63’), Peguy Luyindula (Michael Bustamante 63’), Jonny Steele (Eric Stevenson* 65’), Tim Cahill (Andre Akpan 68’), Thierry Henry (Bradley Wright-Phillips 68’)
Montreal Impact: Evan Bush, Hassoun Camara (Calum Mallace 4’), Wandrille Lefevre, Matteo Ferrari, Eric Miller (Maxim Tissot 73’), Collen Warner, Hernan Bernardello (Patrice Bernier 70’), Justin Mapp (Victor Ndiaye* 63’), Felipe (Santiago Gonzalez 72’), Andres Romero (Sanna Nyassi 46’), Marco Di Vaio (Andrew Wenger 63’)
* - Guest Player
Red Bulls Upcoming Schedule:
Feb. 17: Team travels to Orlando, FL for Disney Pro Soccer Classic field at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Feb. 19: Red Bulls 0 vs. Sporting Kansas City 1 (Disney Pro Soccer Classic)
Feb. 22: Red Bulls 3 vs. Montreal Impact 0 (Disney Pro Soccer Classic)
Feb. 26: Red Bulls vs. Fluminense FC Under-23s at 3:00 PM (Disney Pro Soccer Classic)
March 1: Final Disney Pro Soccer Classic match (opponent, time TBD)
March 2: Return to NY/NJ area
March 8: Red Bulls at Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place at 7:30 PM ET (TV: TBA) – MLS Regular Season Opener
March 15: Red Bulls vs. Colorado Rapids at Red Bull Arena at 4:00 PM ET (TV: NBC Sports Network) – MLS Regular Season Home Opener
