Red Bulls Road Trip At Columbus, 1-1 Draw, 2019 MLS Opener


Playing a third match in just eleven days, the New York Red Bulls kicked off their official 2019 MLS season on the road yesterday against the Columbus Crew which ended in a 1-1 draw.

The match provided an opportunity for a number of young Red Bulls (Kyle Duncan, Sean Nealis, Amro Tarek, Cristian Casseres, Jr., Marcus Epps, Alex Omir Fernandez) to play while several regular first team players were rested for the team's next CONCACAF Champions League match against Santos Laguna, the first leg of the quarter-finals at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday, March 5 with an 8 p.m. kickoff.


New York Red Bulls 1, Columbus Crew SC 1
MLS Regular Season Match 1
Saturday, March 2, 2019 - 4:30 p.m. ET
MAPFRE Stadium | Columbus, Ohio

Scoring Summary:
NY - Andreas Ivan (Valot) 6'
NY - Gaston Sauro (Higuain) 41'

Misconduct Summary:
CLB - Harrison Afful (caution, unsporting behavior) 15'
NY - Aaron Long (caution, unsporting behavior) 27'
CLB - Wil Trapp (caution, unsporting behavior) 31'
NY - Cristian Casseres Jr. (caution, unsporting behavior) 68'
CLB - Pedro Santos (caution, unsporting behavior) 74'
CLB - Waylon Francis (caution, unsporting behavior) 90+1'

New York Red Bulls: Luis Robles ©; Kyle Duncan (Sean Nealis, 64'), Amro Tarek, Aaron Long (Tim Parker, HT), Michael Amir Murillo, Vincent Bezecourt, Cristian Casseres, Jr., Andreas Ivan, Marcus Epps (Alex Muyl, 60'), Florian Valot, Omir Fernandez

TOTAL SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 9; OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3

Columbus Crew SC: Zach Steffen; Waylon Francis, Gaston Sauro, Jonathan Mensah, Harrison Afful, Wil Trapp ©, Arutur, Justin Meram (Robinho, 79'), Pedro Santos, Federico Higuain, Gyasi Zardes

TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 11; OFFSIDE: 6; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 4
 
Referee: Ted Unkel
Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski, Brian Dunn
4th Official: Matt Franz
VAR: Guido Gonzales Jr

Attendance: 17,931

An early Andreas Ivan goal helped the New York Red Bulls (0-0-1) steal a road point in a 1-1 draw against Columbus Crew SC (0-0-1) on Saturday at MAPFRE Stadium. Red Bulls moved to 7-8-8 in MLS season-opening matches.

New York extended its unbeaten streak across all competitions to four matches, dating back to the end of last season. The Red Bulls have outscored their opponents, 7-1 over the last four games.

The Red Bulls extended their unbeaten streak in league play to seven matches (5-0-2), dating back to last year.

Ivan wasted little time getting New York their first goal in MLS play as he headed in aFlorian Valot cross in the 6th minute.

Crew SC found the game's equalizer in the 41st minute as Federico Higuain's corner kick was headed by Gaston Sauro and redirected by Michael Amir Murillo.
Ivan scored his first career MLS goal and has tallied a goal in back-to-back matches across all competitions.

Valot recorded first MLS assist since his injury on July 7, 2018

Columbus' Sauro's goal in the 41st minute brought Luis Robles' scoreless streak to 342 minutes across all competitions, dating back to last season.

Bronx, New York native and Academy Product Omir Fernandez made his first career MLS start, while MLS SuperDraft Second-Round pick and Massapequa, New York native Sean Nealis made his first career league-play appearance.

Newly acquired Red Bulls Amro Tarek and Marcus Epps both made their first MLS starts and appearances for New York.

Valot and Vincent Bezecourt, both of whom ended 2018 with injuries, returned to action as they both were in the Starting XI.

New York is 15-16-10 all-time in the month of March. New York has scored 57 goals in March and allowed 57.

Head coach Chris Armas moved to 12-3-4 overall in MLS regular-season matches and 4-2-4 in league road games.

Following Saturday's match against Columbus, New York and Santos Laguna clash in the SCCL Quarterfinals on Tuesday. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET from Red Bull Arena.