HARRISON, N.J. (July 1, 2015) – The New York Red Bulls lead the New York Cosmos, 2-1, at halftime of a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls got on the board early, the Comos answered in the 16th minute, and the Red Bulls scored late to take the lead into the locker room.
The Red Bulls opened the way they did their first Open Cup game of 2015 – by getting on the board early. In the fifth minute Lloyd Sam found himself with space down the wing. Sam assessed his options and put in a cross towards the far post. Sal Zizzo made a strong run to meet the cross and put a header back across the net and inside the far post. It was the first goal for Zizzo since he joined the Red Bulls via trade with New York City FC in the offseason.
McCarty had a chance from the top of the box in the 13th minute, but his shot dipped just over the crossbar.
The Cosmos evened things up in the 15th minute. Red Bulls center back Matt Miazga was able to break up an initial pass towards Cosmos forward Lucky Mosana, but the ball fell directly to midfielder Leonardo Fernandes, who was able to play Mkosana in alone on Luis Robles. The forward had no trouble finishing one-on-one.
Midfielder Sean Davis launched a shot in the 25th minute that required a quick reaction save from Cosmos ‘keeper Jimmy Maurer. Davis got the ball in traffic and created space for himself before firing a dipping shot that Maurer had to push over the crossbar.
Zizzo appeared to have scored a second in the 33rd minute, but he was rulled offside on his second header, which was actually saved by Mauer before the midfielder buried the rebound.
The Red Bulls retook the lead in the 42nd minute on another header – this time with 18-year-old Cameroonian forward Anatole Abang finishing off a cross from Sacha Kljestan. It was the third goal across all competitions for Abang.
The half went in waves, with each team having a spell where they got the better of the possession and the time spent around goal. The Red Bulls outshot the visitors, 10-4, and 5-1 in shots on goal.
