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Taking No Bull (New York Red Bulls-Montréal Impact recap)

Robert Cole/ALOST
Even before the smoke had cleared, Bradley Wright-Phillips had scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season - and 80th overall in MLS - to help lead the Red Bulls to a comfortable victory over Montréal. (Robert Cole/ALOST)
Even before the smoke had cleared, Bradley Wright-Phillips had scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season – and 80th overall in MLS – to help lead the Red Bulls to a comfortable victory over Montréal. (Robert Cole/ALOST)

HARRISON, NJ — The shots on goal flowed early and often from the boots of the New York Red Bulls players tonight. That incessant onslaught on the Montréal goal soon resulted in a bevy of goals, something the Red Bulls are starting to get accustomed to.

Daniel Royer scored the opener in the 23rd minute, as well as the closing goal in the 90th minute as New York coasted to a 4-0 victory over the Montréal Impact, New York’s fourth consecutive victory in league play. In those last four games, the Red Bulls have scored 15 goals combined and have scored at least three goals in each of those contests.

Though it took 23 minute for the Red Bulls to get on the board first, it easily could have come within the first 80 seconds, as midfielder Felipe uncorked a drive from just outside the box that have to be saved acrobatically by Impact goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, one of six saves he had to make in the first 45 minutes. Royer also could have – and probably should have – been on the board in the 17th minute, as he was scythed to the turf by defender Kyle Fisher inside the box without any real touch on the ball. Royer’s appeals were turned aside by referee Ricardo Salazar, to the amazement of almost everyone inside the stadium.

Just six minutes later, however, Royer did earn himself a penalty, when he was taken down by an on-charging Crépeau, who mistimed his challenge while going for the ball – and instead knocking down Royer. Royer picked himself up, then cheekily chipped in his spot kick down the middle and past a diving Crépeau for a 1-0 lead.

Amazingly enough, that was the scoreline after 45 minutes, despite numerous gilt-edged chances from the Red Bulls to increase their lead. The Red Bulls had 69 percent of the possession in the first half.

New York, for all intents and purposes, put the game away in the 58th minute, as a goal-mouth scramble which was started by a Royer shot towards goal was turned home by defender Michael Murillo, his first-ever goal in Major League Soccer, giving New York a 2-0 advantage.

Someone who’s much more accustomed to scoring in MLS is Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, and he scored his 80th career MLS goal – all with the New York Red Bulls – in the 85th minute off of a cross from midfielder Alex Muyl for a 3-0 lead. Royer rounded off the scoring by beating Crépeau to the near post on a bullet of a shot near the ear of the goalkeeper.

Overall, the Red Bulls had 24 total shots to the Impact’s five – with an 11-2 advantage in terms of shots on target. New York possessed the ball for 69.7 percent of the game, in what was probably the team’s most dominant victory of the season.

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