Red Bulls II hands Eleven first road setback
Photo credit: Robbie Mehling/Soc Takes
The Indy Eleven had escaped with a result in all four of their road matches entering Sunday afternoon’s duel with New York Red Bulls II in Harrison, N.J. The streak is over.
Indy built an early lead, but squandered it in the second half thanks to a furious Red Bulls II rally that started well before a Nico Mattern red card. The end result was a 4-1 drubbing and a crucial three points for NYRB II in the USL Eastern Conference standings.
Soony Saad put the visitors up 1-0 in the 21st minute when Nathan Lewis backheeled a long pass out of the air to a streaking Saad, who finished top shelf. NYRB II couldn’t equalize before the break, but showed promise by winning the possession battle and getting off a barrage of shots.
The hosts continued applying pressure in the second half and the floodgates soon opened. Forwards Brian White and Carlos Rivas struck within three minutes of one another to quickly give Red Bulls II its first lead of the day at 2-1.
A short bit later in the 73rd minute, Matern — already sitting on a yellow — went in late and recklessly to a challenge. After head referee Mark Allatin conferred with his colleagues, Matern was booked for a second time and sent on his way. Things only got uglier from there.
Up a man, NYRB II manager John Wolyniec implored his team to keep attacking rather than sit back and milk the lead. Amando Moreno added a third in the 83rd on a ball from Jared Stroud. And with about a minute left in stoppage time, Cristian Casseres Jr. found Tom Barlow for the fourth and final harpoon.
Things began to unravel for the Eleven even before Matern’s red. They generally lacked efficiency in the opponent’s side of the pitch, which has been a reoccurring problem this season, with only a 58 percent pass completion rate on that half. The hosts also got physically mauled more than they’re used to, suffering 19 fouls while only committing eight. Eleven left back Ayoze in particular, standing a lean 5-8, seemed to struggle with the ramped-up physicality of the match.
80′ – This physical match hasn’t played to Ayoze’s strengths. He hasn’t had a terrible day, but has gotten “beasted on” several times and occasionally rushed getting passes off under pressure because of it. Still 2-1 Red Bulls II. #NYvIND @IndyEleven
— Kevin Johnston (@KJboxing) May 27, 2018
Indy endured 30 shots on the day — 10 on target — while allowing the hosts to string together 527 passes. NYRB simply looked the sharper side, as evidenced by its 81 percent to 70 percent passing accuracy edge.
The win propelled Red Bulls II up the table into sixth with 17 points; the Eleven rest in ninth with 14 points. Next up for NYRB II is a Saturday afternoon home match against FC Cincinnati, while Indy will host the Charleston Battery on Wednesday evening.
Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.
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