Poor Pass Dooms Red Bulls Away at Charlotte FC, Ends Two-Match Winning Streak

A strong performance was taken down on a poor passing decision, allowing Charlotte to score

CHARLOTTE, NC.- It was Sunday Night Soccer on MLS Season Pass through Apple TV as the New York Red Bulls were trying to add to their current two match winning streak at Sports Illustrated Stadium, but once again their poor road performance came back as one negative play took them out of the result as they fell to Charlotte FC by a final score of one goal to nil.

Sofo Gave Charlotte a Free Shot

The Red Bulls had control of the match, as they were defending well and building up the attack toward Charlotte’s side of the pitch. All of that came crashing down when Mohammed Sofo was along the near side touchline and sent a back pass toward the backline, but it never reached Noah Eile. All that space was given to Charlotte FC’s attack against the run of play.

When Idan Toklomati got the ball, he passed it to the far side toward Kerwin Vargas, got inside the area, and blasted the ball over the shoulders and outstretched arms of Carlos Coronel for the only goal of the match. A very poor decision from Sofo led the Red Bulls behind the eight ball all night long and forced them to play from behind all match long in the 30th minute.

Bronico’s Penalty Removed by VAR

Early in the match, it looked like Charlotte FC was going to be awarded a penalty, but VAR came into play as they reviewed the play. On the replay, Raheem Edwards came to defend Bronico inside the penalty area, but never touched him. But he was close to him, and Bronico swung his left leg to initiate the contact, then fell inside the area.

Edwards was protesting furiously to the referee and to the Charlotte FC players that he never fouled Bronico. Referee Armando Villarreal announced that the penalty would be removed and that the Red Bulls would restart play inside their own area. Many felt that Bronico should’ve been given a yellow card for simulation by Villarreal.

Edwards played a strong game

Left Fullback Raheem Edwards had a strong game both defensively and attacking. Many times, he would get back into his defensive posture and help out by clearing the ball or dribbling it out of danger. But attacking-wise, he made several strong moves to get his side into position, creating chances inside the Charlotte area.

The big moment that came for him was a corner at the far side in the second half. Many were hoping he would deliver a fantastic ball, and someone on the Red Bulls would find a way to poke it in for the equalizer. As he struck it, the ball made a hard turn toward the net. Kristijan Kahlina missed the ball, but unfortunately for the Red Bulls, it struck the crossbar and out. An Olympico was almost scored.

Carlos Coronel Played Well

While the defense has some strong moments, Carlos Coronel stood strong in the net. His big moment came late in the second half as Tim Parker tried to defend Toklomati, but when Tim Parker tried to make a tight turn, he wiped out at the far side, giving his man a free chance for a shot. Coronel was in perfect position to stand his ground and made a left leg save to keep the Red Bulls in the match in the 84th minute.

Same Road Woes

While I do believe the Red Bulls had a strong performance and they should’ve at least picked up a point in this match, they continue to have a mental block on the road as they continue to fail in the hunger department. They controlled the match from start to finish, and they should’ve had at least a goal converted, but it’s always the same. A simple mistake, or switching off at the wrong time, and they concede a costly goal.

No matter how the New York Red Bulls tried to fight back for the equalizer, they couldn’t connect for one at the right time. When they hurry to create a chance, either the passes aren’t getting converted, or there is too much on the pass, and they lose the ball. Or the pass goes right at a defender, and they get a counterattack going. Something needs to seriously change when they are away from Sports Illustrated Stadium.

“Yeah, I think when you are looking at the numbers, so then I would say, I’m pretty sure that we have really good numbers in our ball possession in our moments in the final third, but at the end, to be honest, we had also some chances. We made one mistake, where we concede the goal. So, that can happen, but we have to play more with a clear direction to the goal, to play more forward to when we are on the side, then to cross and to bring balls in the box.

I think when we did it, then we had our chances, we had our moments and then I would say normally you have to score here and you are going out without one point here from this game, that is very frustrating, but at the end, we are responsible for that in our behavior, especially in the final third to play forward and to be more hungry, more aggressive in the box to score.” said Sandro Schwarz

Before the match the New York Red Bulls jumped to ninth place for the last playoff spot, due to the Chicago Fire’s loss at the Philadelphia Union by a final of four goals to nil on Goal Difference. With the loss tonight, the Red Bulls remain in ninth tied on points with Chicago at 39, but are ahead at +4 while Chicago dropped to +2.

The Red Bulls return to Sports Illustrated This Saturday night as they take on the Columbus Crew on Saturday August 30th, 7:30 PM Eastern on MLS Season Pass Through Apple TV.

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