PASSAIC, N.J. — Sports Illustrated Stadium along the Passaic River was the site the U.S. Open Cup committee chose for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds to visit for a third-round match against MLS opponent Red Bull NY on Wednesday. Most of the seats were empty for the match, the first between the franchises.
With the game’s proximity to Newark, the venue served as a fitting location, akin to a Soprano’s mob hit, one where the unsuspecting victim got whacked quickly.
The bigger, faster and more experienced MLS side used a pair of first-half goals three minutes apart to stake a comfortable 2-0 lead and never really conceded any serious Riverhounds scoring chances until late en route to a comfortable 3-1 win, punching a ticket to the round of 16 in two weeks.
The opening minutes played out like it should have with the host Red Bull pushing the USL visitors on their heels. RBNY came into the contest with a minus-4 goal differential despite a 3-2-2 start to MLS league play. Led by 18-year-old goal scoring phenom Julian Hall, the Red Bull had several early chances but didn’t connect as the Riverhounds came out in a 5-2-3 defensive alignment to negate their speedy opponent.
Pittsburgh got its first corner in the ninth minute when Robbie Mertz sent a dangerous ball into the 6-yard box that defender Owen Mikoy got a foot on it, only to see it get deflected and just above the Red Bull cage.
The next 15 minutes were spent back in the Riverhounds end, with New York getting chances but not connecting. The game’s opening goal came in the 25th minute on a direct kick about 20 yards out as Red Bull midfielder Emil Forsburg curved a shot around a four-man Riverhounds wall, hooking outside in and into the upper right-hand corner of the net, beating Riverhounds keeper Nico Campuzano.
Not one to sit around and allow its opponent to counter, the Red Bull pressed the action again and struck nylon for a second time in three minutes when Hall broke free into the 6 and easily beat Campuzano, extending New York’s lead to 2-0.
The first half played out exactly as Riverhounds manager Rob Vincent predicted prior to the match.
“They are a good side. They showed it,” Vincent offered afterwards. “They are good on the ball, made it hard to press and win the ball back. They punished us for our mistakes as well.”
The second half started very much like the first with the Red Bull pushing action, and in the 47th minute, Hall found the back of the net for his second goal of the match and a 3-0 lead for the host.
Hall, who turned 18 March 24, has been on a fast track for success ever since he joined the Red Bull NY academy at age 12. The Big Apple native is the second-youngest player to score a regulation goal in MLS league play.
Red Bull NY manager Michael Bradley praised his young star afterwards.
“Julian is making great progress. He’s been an important player for us,’’ said Bradley. “The chasing and the sprinting he does, that makes it hard on the other team and that goes unnoticed. Julian has done a really good job of understanding how we want to play, the different ways we want to create chances, the different ways we want him to move in and out of the box so he can score goals. He’s going in a really good way.”
Once play reached the 60th minute, the Riverhounds began to sub freely, which Vincent said later was always the plan, given the depth issues the team already faces with Beto Ydrach and Guillermo Vacter missing for the foreseeable future due to injuries.
The Riverhounds did manage to break the ice on their end with a goal in the 80th minute, coming off a corner from Eliot Goldthorp, whose effort found striker Trevor Amann, who beat Red Bull keeper John McCarthy.
“I glad we kept going and kept fighting,” said Vincent. “Now we have to get back and focus on the league again.”
With Open Cup play now over, the Riverhounds will turn their attention to USL Championship play with a home game Saturday at Highmark Stadium against Detroit City FC. The game starts just after 7 p.m. and will be televised on KDKA and CBS Sports Golazo channel.