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A Texas-Sized Beatdown (Snap Judgments: New York Red Bulls vs. FC Dallas)

Robert Cole/ALOST

 

akoiki-passport2 – by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief

 

HARRISON, NJ — Of all of the wins the New York Red Bulls have amassed on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River under fourth-year head coach Jesse Marsch, the winningest manager in club history, Saturday evening’s win against the most in-form team in Major League Soccer might have topped them all. If you do not believe us, you can take his word for it.

There was a lot to smile about for Red Bulls players and fans alike in their 3-0 victory over Western Conference power FC Dallas, the latter being unbeaten in seven consecutive games before tonight. Bradley Wright-Phillips and Aaron Long tallied in the first half for New York before wingback Kemar Lawrence scored in the second half to cap off the Red Bulls’ comprehensive performance.

The win was made all the more impressive by the fact that the Red Bulls were reduced to just 10 men just minutes after Wright-Phillips’ 23rd-minute opener, when midfielder Daniel Royer was issued a red card after video review on a studs-high challenge on FC Dallas midfielder Jacori Hayes. It could have proven a turning point for the visitors, but the Red Bulls ended up using the decision as a catalyst to continue its dominance, leading to some of the highest praise the club has ever received from its current skipper.

“What it was was a show of our character,” said Marsch. “So you know, we talk a lot around here about our style of play and our tactics and all the different things that we try to be about from a soccer, technical perspective. But this was more to do about the character of the group and their commitment and their mentality and their will on the day to play for each other and do whatever it was going to take. And I told them, I think this may be, of all the great wins we’ve had at home, this may be our best one ever.”

“So we knew we were in for a big challenge, and if you would have told me we were going to go down a man in the 26th minute, I would have said it was going to be a long night for us,” Marsch continued. “And once again, we showed what we’re about.”

Wright-Phillips’ goal came on a tap-in from a cross by midfielder Tyler Adams, before Long fired home a wonderful volley off of a Sean Davis corner kick delivery in the 39th minute to double the Red Bulls’ advantage. Though New York was outshot 17-13 and was outpossessed in the game, it had two more shots on target (8-6) and was more clinical in front of goal throughout the evening.

“I would say that [the Red Bulls] have a lot of energy and for some reason we couldn’t match that,” said FC Dallas manager Oscar Pareja. “We have many parts of the game where we could have done a better job but we couldn’t. As I said, it was a night to just learn and review and see what happened because today it really — we don’t make it.”

*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday evening’s game, with all photos taken by our senior photographer, Robert Cole. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 25 pictures in total.

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