Ben Mines scored in the first half and Bradley Wright-Phillips and Carlos Rivas tacked on insurance goals in the second half for a reserve-filled New York Red Bulls in a 4-0 win over the Portland Timbers Saturday night at Red Bull Arena.
On his debut, Mines gave the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute, completing a well-worked sequence that started with Derrick Etienne, Jr. and Carlos Rivas playing a quick one-two.
Etienne spun and escaped into space and played to Alejandro “Kaku” Romero Gamarra on his left. Kaku sent a low cross to the back post where Mines - the Homegrown 17-year-old - tapped in for his first MLS goal. Per Elias Sports Bureau, he is the fifth-youngest player to earn an MLS start in club history and the third-youngest to score, behind Eddie Gaven and Jozy Altidore.
Bradley Wright-Phillips and Carlos Rivas tacked on two goals in a three-minute span to put the game away. After Sean Davis latched onto Vincent Bezecourt's corner kick, Wright-Phillips headed in from the edge of the six. Three minutes later, Rivas scored his first goal in a Red Bulls uniform to close out an impressive performance and Rivas added the final goal in stoppage time.
Goals
- 18’ — NY — Ben Mines
- 77’ — NY — Bradley Wright-Phillips
- 80’ — NY — Carlos Rivas
- 90’+3’ — NY — Carlos Rivas
Next up:
- NY: Tuesday, March 13 — Club Tijuana, CONCACAF Champions League (8 pm ET | UDN - Full TV & streaming info)
