Red Bulls Explodes for Four

photo by Matt Kremkau

by Daniel Feuerstein

That was thrilling. 

To see the New York Red Bulls explode against Atlanta United at Red Bull Arena is what they should've been doing for the last couple of weeks, and for the last two and a half seasons, but now under Troy Lesesne, this team is finally coming alive. Even though there is still a foreboding feeling of feast or famine with this club trying to put goals in the back of the net, now we have a total of six goals scored in back-to-back matches. 

Two in the second half against Charlotte FC, and now four in their last home match against Atlanta United. We also saw something we haven't seen since their 4-0 romp last season against DC United when Luquinhas scored a brace, now we saw it in this match against Atlanta United with Frankie Amaya in the second half. 

But let's talk about that first half. Daniel Edelman who returned from the FIFA U-20 World Cup and had a successful run with the United States youth National Team, came up big scoring a goal that just came out of nowhere. How he got a hold of the ball from the throw-in from Cameron Harper and got into an acute angle to smash that ball past Brad Guzan for the match-winner.

Or that second goal late in the first half by Cristian Casserers Jr. Edelman started that play by intercepting the clear and giving the ball to Tom Barlow, who had enough awareness to lead Casserers into the ball to make the attacking run, just before he was taken down. Casserers caught Brad Guzan flatfooted and slotted it home inside the near post for the two-goal lead. 

When the second half began, you saw more confidence in this club to play strong defensively and to continue to make quality attacking runs. Once Frankie Amaya came in he wanted a piece of the pie, and he got two helps of that pie when he smacked home the third goal of the match, on a great backpass from Ronald Donkor. But that second goal towards the end of the match was deflected off the defender's boot and rainbowed into the back of the net. 

"I think for all four goals, they come in a in really different ways. They don't come -- I think the goal with Cristian comes in a way that's familiar to Red Bull. We press, we win the ball up the field and he goes and he scored." said Troy Lesesne, "Daniel's is off a throw-in. Frankie, you know, he gets two goals against a run of play, and credit to all these guys for capitalizing on their opportunity. 

"But I would say, you know, maybe we were able to capitalize and be opportunistic on chances that aren't necessarily always how you score goals and how we typically score goals. But you have matches like that and it's great to finally feel that way and feel like any time you went forward, you had a chance to score."

What we have seen so far is a club responding and improving right in front of our eyes and the hope is that they will continue to do so before and after the Leagues Cup break, which is a shame that we are going to put a halt and face off against Liga MX sides for a tournament that has no business being on MLS calendar, or Liga MX's calendar, period.