HARRISON, N.J. (March 31, 2018)- On a crisp and sun-splashed day at Red Bull Arena, Red Bulls II ran riot over their USL eastern conference foes 5-2 as four different players sliced their way through the Battery defense and found the back of the net.
After a slow start, the hosts almost took the lead in the seventh minute on a curling effort by Stephen Echevarria but was palmed onto the crossbar by Battery’s goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper. From there, Ben Mines was brought down on the penalty area, and Brian White slotted home the first goal of the match by shooting low into the left corner of the net.
Within five minutes into the second half, NYRB II took firm control of the match as the hosts scored two unanswered goals by Andre Tinari and Ben Mines three minutes later. The Battery hit back in the 56th minute when Ta Anunga scoring the first of his two goals, put home the rebound from Ataulla Guerra’s initial shot, but six minutes later New York notched a fourth goal courtesy of Armano Moreno and then added a fifth in the 66th minute.
“The team had a great performance, really helped out especially with the crosses coming in from the right side, that’s what pretty much allowed to get the two goals,” said Moreno.
“The solid defense we had today, really helped us out. With Hassan Ndam clearing out balls in the back, making some big saves, pumping the guys up, working hard, pushes me to do whatever I can to get some goals for the team.”
Tah Anunga was able to add a digit on the scoreboard with the assist of Taylor’s Mueller’s long ball, putting the midfielder behind New York’s defense, but it was too little too late for any serious comeback, which secured the second win of the young season for John Wolyniec’s crew.
Scoring:
44′ – NY – Brian White (penalty)
47′ – NY – Andrew Tinari (Brian White)
50′ – NY – Ben Mines (Andrew Tinari)
56′ – CHS – Tah Anunga
62′ – NY – Armando Moreno (Brian White)
66′ – NY – Armando Moreno (Ethan Kutler)
78′ – CHS – Tah Anunga (Taylor Mueller)
Next match: at Richmond Kickers – Kickoff – 5:00 pm EDT
Main Photo Credit:
