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Daniel Royer Brace Sees New York Red Bulls Advance in U.S. Open Cup

The New York Red Bulls routed their Hudson River rivals NYCFC in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. It included a brace from Daniel Royer.
Daniel Royer

Harrison, New Jersey (June 6, 2018) — The New York Red Bulls faced NYCFC in the fourth round of the US Open Cup. In their second meeting this season, the game yielded the same results. Goals by Vincent Bezecourt, Aaron Long, and Daniel Royer gave the Red Bulls another 4-0 win over NYCFC.

Daniel Royer Brace Sees New York Red Bulls Rout NYCFC in Fourth Round of U.S Open Cup

History Repeating

This is the second year in a row that the Hudson River Derby has come to the Open Cup. Last year, RBNY was able to hold a 1-0 scoreline to advance. The two previous years, NYCFC were eliminated by the New York Cosmos, a name synonymous with crowd-pleasing soccer. NYCFC coach Patrick Vieira admitted to frustration in the wake of the loss. “[I]t is a difficult day for us because we wanted to do well in the competition.”

Missing Pieces

With these next few weeks testing the depth of the Red Bulls squad, NYCFC had to face their own international dilemma: Open Cup rules limit rosters to five international players. Aside from Rodney Wallace and Ronald Matarrita on World Cup duty with Costa Rica, the international-heavy NYC squad gave minutes to players that wouldn’t otherwise see the pitch, such as goalkeeper Brad Stuver and midfielder Kwame Awuah.

Early Strike

French midfielder Vincent Bezecourt quickly brought the game into RBNY’s favor. In only the second minute, Bezecourt’s strike from the top of the box made it past Stuver for the opening goal. Moments later, NYC defender Cedric Hountondji had to leave the game with a hamstring injury. The remainder of the first half was a lot of movement, but neither team made further headway.

Long, Royer Sew Up Game

With reliable striker Bradley Wright-Phillips on the bench, RBNY looked to the rest of the roster for their goalscorers. Defender Aaron Long, one of eight players on the field who had come from USL side Red Bulls II, headed the ball in the goal from a corner by Marc Rzatkowski. Then Royer, who has been rather quiet on the field so far this year, scored two goals in two minutes. He brought back his signature back flip celebration, of which coach Jesse Marsch is not a fan. By the final whistle, to the sounds of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” the Red Bulls eliminated NYCFC with a 4-0 shutout.

The draw for the fifth round will take place at 11 AM Eastern time.

Photo credit: Bill Twomey Photography

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