Skip to main content

Red Bulls ready for Orlando City challenge in the Open Cup

photo by Matt Kremkau

What a huge victory the Red Bulls had down in Austin, Texas as they throttled the Capital city side and took the full three points in the bank, but now they are getting ready for their big match in midweek action as they traveled back to Central Florida to face Orlando City at Exploria Stadium for the Semi-Finals in the US Open Cup.

So far the Red Bulls have already faced this side earlier in the year in a three goals to nil victory in league play back in April at the Purple Palace on Church Street with goals from Luquinhas, Cristian Casserers & a Lewis Morgan Penalty. to take home the full three points. Now it's an elimination game where they will take on a club that has been playing very defensively this entire season.

"That was kind of a complete game by us back then, I think we played very well in all facets of the game. The three goals kind of came in different aspects, with a penalty, a transition moment, and a build-up moment. They’re a good team over the last few months and we’re preparing hard for them, and it should be a good one tomorrow." said Sean Nealis, "Winning the Open Cup? That’s a big goal for everybody. We have a lot of determination to win this game and move on to the championship round. Back in the Hartford game, we kind of sat down and set a lot of goals on why we want to achieve this and it’s becoming a stronger possibility game-by-game."

Gerhard Struber was able to rotate his roster without using Frankie Amaya, Lewis Morgan, and for the majority of the match in Luquinhas sitting on the bench and resting them for this important next step to get to the final in September. Watching the majority of his young kids attacking and tearing down the super high-powered Austin FC side.

In Orlando's last two matches in the US Open Cup, they survived going through 120 minutes and penalty shootouts, but currently, in their last two games, they used the majority of their starters in a friendly against Arsenal and a loss to the Philadelphia Union at home. At the moment the club has been playing strong defense and solid goalkeeping to earn their points either at home or on the road, but you can see that they are suffering in the goal-scoring department as they lost Daryl Dike & Chris Mueller in the transfer window.

That's why they went after Nicholas Gioacchini and just signed Colombian winger Ivan Angulo, but I'm not expecting him to be available for Orlando City, but not sure if Gioacchini will be coming off the bench or starting in this match. The press from Struber's men has worked to perfection and now it will be time to use that magic again on the road in this huge Semi-Final matchup.

This is the moment for this young Red Bulls side to make a huge statement to the entire American Soccer community that all the hard work they have done to get to this level and earn some respect to knock off Orlando City will be in these next 90 minutes or possibly an extra 30 or round of penalties. The big moment is here and they are going to be readyto take advantage of it. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Red Bulls Announce Fan Experience Improvements

by Garry Redman On top of the theme nights announced this season, something new has been added the next time the season ticket holders and supporters step inside The Cathedral... The state-of-the-art LED lighting system at Red Bull Arena will provide higher on-field light levels for enhanced visibility and safety and introduce new entertainment features that heighten the overall experience for spectators.   Built around Musco's Total Light Control—TLC for LED™ technology, the new system is designed to provide exceptional playability and uniformity while minimizing glare. Cleaner, whiter light will elevate the broadcast quality for fans watching around the world.  Color-changing fixtures and Show-Light® Pro entertainment technology will allow the Red Bulls to wash the stadium in different colors and synchronize light shows to music, heightening the fan experience during goal celebrations, player introductions, and other big moments. If you have no idea what this means, cl...

Quotes: Red Bulls Show Promise, But More Work Need To Be Done

photo by Matt Kremkau Sixty seconds in a ninety-minute match. That’s all it took for Sporting Kansas City to ruin the Opening Day festivities at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. The supporters in attendance saw crisp passing and a stout defense that kept the visitors at bay, despite not having striker Alan Pulido in the starting lineup. But significantly, the supporters were buoyed by a return to that press that has last seen since Jesse Marsch was in charge. But that was the first 45 minutes. In the second half, things turned for the better and then, shockingly, worse for the home side that evening. Midfielder Caden Clark, who scored the opening goal, spoke about the match as a whole: I’ve kept that in the back of my mind, actually, not scoring at home. I really wanted to do that in front of the supporters, and it was great to do that in front of the few that were here tonight who brought the noise. When I scored that [goal] the place was shaking, and you feed off of that and gai...

Editorial: New York Red Bulls are Fun to Watch

photo by Matt Kremkau by Daniel Feuerstein The New York Red Bulls 2024 season starts off and running. In their first three matches, they have looked different from their last five to six seasons of doom and despair when trying to attack or have a lapse in judgment on the defensive end. The two big editions for the club are undoubtedly the imports from Sweden in Centerback Noah Elle & attacking midfielder Emil Forsberg. Two players who are a part of the Swedish National Team have started off well in Major League Soccer. We all knew what we were getting right away from Forsberg. A high-energy creative and attacking midfielder who was already bought in from day one, when Director of Sport Jochen Schneider went to Leipzig and brought him over. He was already committed to making the trip to the United States to play his brand of soccer, and so far he hasn't disappointed. Even though he has come close three times off of free kicks, hitting the crossbar twice and being saved by the ke...