Tennie Sumague
EBC New York Bureau
HARRISON, NJ (Eagle News) — A winless Orlando City SC team accomplished something no Major League Soccer team has done since the Columbus Crew SC visited Red Bulls Arena last July 26th — beat the Red Bulls on their home territory 1-0 last Saturday evening.
The Red Bulls first home loss in eight months came under former New York captain, Sacha Kljestan, who scored the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute.
Coming off a 4-1 home victory against the San Jose Earthquakes the previous week, the Red Bulls looked deflated in this subpar game. Orlando City capitalized by slowing down the pace and throwing the Bulls off their rhythm.
“[Orlando City] gets a lot of credit winning here that not a lot of teams have done in the last five or six years, but they made a good play on a day where they didn’t create much,” said Red Bulls Head Coach Chris Armas. “I’m happy for Sacha that he had a good game, but we’re more focused that we didn’t bring our good stuff on the night. We let a major opportunity [slip away] in front of loyal supporters. We didn’t give them what they deserved.”
Red Bulls were without four players due to National team duties. Goaltender Luis Robles took over as captain for the game and received his first yellow card of the season during the final whistle.
“The most important thing is that we have to go out there with a certain desire and passion when we put on that uniform and play in front of our fans at Red Bulls Arena,” said the veteran Robles. “And [that] was missing. What we put on display was not the brand of soccer we want to play and the mentality was not there.”
Ex-captain Kljestan, who played for the Red Bulls from 2015-2017, was welcomed with boos from the start and those boos grew louder after scoring his first goal of the season. Kljestan helped the Red Bulls win the Supporters Shield in 2015.
“I think some of the fans hold a little against me because I missed a couple of penalties [during] big moments for this club and I wasn’t able to carry this team to the MLS cup,” Kljestan explained. “When I played for the Red Bulls, I loved playing here, and I gave everything I had to make this a winning club. I enjoyed every moment of it.”
Red Bulls are on the road to face the Chicago Fire on Saturday. Orlando City play at home against Wayne Rooney and the D.C. United on Sunday.
(Eagle News Service)