By Steven Moncayo
MONTCLAIR, NJ
The New York Red Bulls II (0-1-2, 3 pts.) hosted fellow MLS NEXT Pro expansion club Crown Legacy FC (2-0-1, 7 pt.) at MSU Soccer Park where Crown Legacy grabbed three points in their first road trip in club history defeating New York Red Bulls II 3-1 after trailing 1-0 at the half.
It didn’t take long for the pressure to be put early on Crown Legacy as the Red Bulls took the early lead with a goal from forward Wikelman Carmona in the 8th minute with a through pass from midfielder Julian Edelman. Carmona received the ball in the box and struck it into the bottom right corner which makes it three goals in three appearances this season for the Venezuelan forward.
Red Bulls II Goalkeeper AJ Marcucci made a crucial save in the 22nd minute from close range that came from David Poreba to keep the Red Bulls in the lead.
Things began to go south for the Red Bulls in the second half as Forward Iuri Tavares and defender Adam Armour led the second-half comeback with Armour setting up Tavares for both goals.
In the 52nd minute, Adam Armour whipped in a dangerous cross from the left flank which found the head of Iuri Tavares to make things level with New York.
Five minutes later in the 57th minute a low ball was played from Adam Armour once again from the left flank where Iuri Tavares received it to put it in the back of the net to make it 2-1 for the Crown Legacy.
2023 MLS SuperDraft #1 overall pick Hamady Diop also found his way into the stat sheet when he played forward Marko Filipovic on a counterattack in the 78th minute to make it 3-1 and seal the three points on the road .
New York Red Bulls II defender Hassan Ndam thinks a lot of things can be improved on in the squad following the defeat.
“We have to connect more offensively as in the second half there were not enough shots on target or chances created. We have to stay focused on our defense and make sure we don’t make it easy for them to go through on goal.”
Substitutions for New York included Jayden Reid, Curtis Ofori, Henry Wise, and Ibrahim Kasule. Wise and Kasule made their first appearances for Red Bulls II this season, with this match being Kasule’s debut for the club.
When asked what could be taken away from the result, Red Bulls II Coach Ibrahim Sekagya responded.
“Learning, We’ll go back and watch the film and collect what we have to do better. We have to try not to focus on the negatives but on the positives. What I learned from this result is that there’s a lot of talent coming in.”
New York Red Bulls II return to action on April 16th against Huntsville City at MSU Soccer Park scheduled for 7:00 pm E.T.
