Hanover, N.J. (March 8, 2017) – New York Red Bulls II tied their first USL opponent of preseason, Harrisburg City Islanders, at the Red Bulls Training Facility in preparation for their March 25 USL opener in Pittsburgh, 1-1.
The 90-minute affair saw NYRB II sprinkle in a handful of first-teamers ahead of the senior team’s home opener at Red Bull Arena this Saturday.
Newly acquired Panamanian international for the senior team, Michael Amir Murillo, made his debut putting in a 62-minute shift.
The first half of the match saw the wind dictate much of play as neither team recorded a shot until the 15th minute. As the half wore on, Red Bulls II picked up the pace and press as they nearly took the lead in the 34th minute off a Florian Valot 1v1 opportunity, foiled by the Harrisburg keeper to keep the game scoreless going into the half.
Only one change was made to start the second half as Zeiko Lewis came on for Mike Grella.
Some tactical changes were made and Red Bulls II continued to control the tempo of the game. Those changes led to Red Bulls II’s opening goal in the 64th minute when Florian Valot buried a cross in from Vincent Bezecourt to take a 1-0 lead.
That score line held up with few chances for either side until the 83rd minute when Tim Schmoll was called for a foul inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty kick to Harrisburg, which was converted.
John Wolyniec on 1-1 result
“It was a bit windy, so it made the game difficult to play in, but I think our guys were committed. We worked hard, we put a lot in to the game, dominated long stretches, and we got a good goal. Like I said, we put a lot into it. It certainly wasn’t our best day of soccer. There are certainly some things to work on, so it’s good to get guys from the first-team some 90-minute games in for guys who haven’t gotten in for awhile, but at the same time taking little steps toward the beginning of the season and you know Harrisburg put up a great fight. It was a great test for us, a lot of good things for sure, but definitely some things to work on.”
Scoring Summary:
NY: Florian Valot 64’
HAR: Aaron Wheeler 86’
Lineup:
Ryan Meara; Justin Bilyeu (Brett Nason, 75’), Tim Schmoll, David Abidor, Michael Murillo (Hassan Ndam 62’); Dan Metzger, Arun Basuljevic; Mike Grella (Zeiko Lewis, 45’), Vincent Bezecourt; Brandon Allen (Bradley Nestor, 83’), Florian Valot
