On Sunday, the New York Red Bulls II hosted the Chicago Fire II at Montclair State University (MSU) Soccer Park in a single-elimination, MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.
When these two teams last met on Aug. 27 at MSU Soccer Park, the Fire II scored two goals in the first half and went toe-to-toe with the Red Bulls II. The Red Bulls II then capped off their first season in MLS NEXT Pro by finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference. Red Bulls II Head Coach Ibrahim Sekagya has had his team playing like a lean, mean fighting machine and they didn’t disappoint with their season on the line in Sunday’s knockout game.
The Red Bulls II totally controlled the tempo of the match in the opening ten minutes and by the 13th minute had earned their fifth corner kick. Wikelman Carmona lined up to take the kick from the right corner flag and crossed toward the back-post, where Frank Ssebufu was there to score a header, which put the Red Bulls II on the scoreboard first.
In the 25th minute, Ibrahim Kasule, who led the Red Bulls II with 15 goals during the regular season, received a pass at midfield and played a through ball up the middle of the field for Red Bulls II captain, O’Vonte Mullings. With a burst of speed, Mullings won a race with a Fire II defender to the ball and scored one-on-one with the goalkeeper to stretch his team’s lead to two.
The Red Bulls II added a third goal in the 45th minute when their left back Omar Valencia dribbled deep into the attacking third and sent a short pass in the air to Kasule, who was running inside the 18-yard box. Kasule trapped the ball, kicked a left-footed volley, which was saved and then scored his own rebound to give the Red Bulls II a three-goal-lead heading into halftime.
Fire II Heat Up in the Second Half
The Chicago Fire II made two substitutions before the start of the second half, removing two midfielders from the match. These moves paid off because, in the 55th minute, a Fire II player was taken down on the edge of the Red Bull 18-yard box by Matt Nocita, who received a yellow card. The Fire II received a free kick in a dangerous spot on the edge of the Red Bull 18-yard box, which Luka Prpa scored with a hard left-footed curling shot that beat the diving goalkeeper, Alan Rutkowski to the left post and cut Chicago’s deficit to two goals.
After his team conceded its first goal of the game, Sekagya made three substitutions, subbing out Ssebufu for Jorge Cabezas-Hurtado and Carmona for Julian Hall. But momentum was now on the Fire II’s side and in the 70th minute, Prpa ripped a left-footed volley from close range that had to be blocked by Red Bulls II defender, Juan Esteban Gutierrez. In the 73rd minute, Sekagya subbed Mullings out for Ronald Donkor, who shortly after coming on, collided with an opponent on an aerial duel. Donkor required medical attention and would stay in the game another nine minutes before being subbed off for Rafael Mosquera in the 82nd minute.
In the 86th minute, Cabezas-Hurtado ripped a hard left-footed shot at the Fire II goal, but it was saved easily by the goalkeeper. Despite Chicago registering all four of their shots-on-goal in the second half, they scored once in this match. In stoppage time, the Red Bulls II added a fourth goal when Hurtado dribbled into Chicago’s defensive half and passed to Mosquera. Mosquera took the ball into the Fire II 18-yard box before kicking a pass that left the ground to Kasule, who trapped and scored with his right-foot to complete a brace in his first MLS NEXT Pro playoff game.
Baby Bulls Discuss First NEXT Pro Playoff Win
In their first ever MLS NEXT Pro playoff game, the New York Red Bulls II stormed past the Chicago Fire II with a decisive 4-1 victory. They were able to win because they controlled the game from the opening kick-off and with the exception with conceding one goal on one free kick, Sekagya’s team dominated both the attacking and defending sides of the game.
During the postgame press conference, Baby Bulls head coach Ibrahim Sekagya described what went into his team’s 4-1 victory.
“We talked about it at the end of the season that we have another four finals. We had to go in, and we knew this game was not going to be easy. It’s a difficult game, they are good with the ball, they like the ball. Our mentality from the first half was fantastic… We knew exactly that we are home, we needed to press high. We got some goals, but when we came back for the second half, we dropped a little bit, and they had some chances with the ball. They’re young players, the most important is a win for today, then we’ll look into it, and we go to the next one.”
Red Bulls II HC, Ibrahim Sekagya
The second goal of the match which Mullings scored helped Red Bull II dominate the first half and he discussed after the game why that good start was the key to the Baby Bulls winning today’s game.
“It was important to start off dominant, we wanted to establish that in the game and we knew that playoff games weren’t going to be easy. Anything can happen at any given time. We wanted to control our variables and what we can. It was a great effort from the team and a great performance.”
Red Bulls II Captain, O’Vonte Mullings
Many members of the Red Bulls II played well today but none did better than Ibrahim Kasule. Since transferring to the Red Bulls II in March, he has been a stellar player, who led the team with 15 regular season goals which were the third-most in MLS NEXT Pro this season. But Kasule didn’t come up short in this playoff game, scoring a brace. He discussed what it was like to play alongside fellow Ugandan Frank Ssebufu and win a playoff game.
“It’s cool because we’re from the same country, we grew up together, played together since like 17. Then we came to the US, played together, and are scoring together. It’s a good feeling, because we had dreams. We have to score every game; we have to help the team to win. So, when we scored in the first half, it was like, yeah, that’s nice, because we have to score for the team to win. If we don’t score, that means the team cannot win.”
Ibrahim Kasule
One day after becoming the second youngest player in MLS history to make their debut, Julian Hall made his first appearance in a MLS NEXT Pro playoff game. This appearance was his 14th for the Red Bulls II and after the game his coach described how the 15-year-old homegrown player has been developing.
“It was fantastic to see him [debut] but we know Julian, this is not a sub player. This is a young player with a lot of potential and we’re going to see, and this is good for us. We know when he comes here, he is the same. He’s not changing, he plays with the first team, and he comes down, he’s doing what he’s doing…which makes it so hard for the other players, to see there is a young one who will get a chance, and this is [due to] the work he puts in.”
Red Bulls II HC, Ibrahim Sekagya
Coach Sekagya’s team now advance into the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference semifinals but will have no control over who their opponent will be. This is because the new MLS NEXT Pro Playoff format allows the Eastern Conference’s top-seed, Crown Legacy FC to choose who their opponent will be in the conference semifinals. Their choice is between the fourth-seeded Red Bulls II or third-seeded Columbus Crew II, because these two teams are the lowest seeds left on the Eastern Conference side of the MLS NEXT Pro playoff bracket. The Red Bulls II will wait to see what happens, knowing that they should have a shot against the Legacy since they took Legacy FC to a penalty shootout after a 0-0 tie in regulation, only three weeks ago.
In the postgame press conference, the captain of the Red Bulls II sounded confident when describing his team’s performance, which is one they will try to recreate in the semifinals.
“It was important for us to dominate both sides of the game because as you know, football is a two-way sport. You have to be effective at both, defensively and offensively. I feel like our preparation this week was top, and we want to just continue to build on that.”
Red Bulls II captain, O’Vonte Mullings
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