Daniel Royer celebrates his goal in the first half. (Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sports)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The red-hot Red Bulls continued to scorch the net on a hot day in the upper Midwest.
Daniel Royer, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Alex Muyl found the net to lift New York to a solid 3-0 victory over Minnesota United at CF Bank Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The three-goal win came only four days after the Red Bulls ripped the nets five times in a 5-1 trouncing of the San Jose Earthquakes at home.
In fact, the Red Bulls have scored three or more goals in three consecutive games. The last time they scored three or more in three successive matches was from March 25- to April 7, 2012.
And wait — there’s more.
The Red Bulls recorded their first three-game road winning streak since April 13-May 4, 2013. They have tallied scored eight goals in their last three away games after scoring four in their first seven away games this season (1-6-0).
“It’s clear that we’re in a good way,” Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch said. “We’ve been playing quite well. We’ve been getting good performances from a lot of different guys. So yeah, I feel like the team has come together. The other thing is that we went through some tough early season struggles and it really built character into our group.”
Goalkeeper Luis Robles recorded the shutout, the 45th in his career, as the Red Bulls (10-8-1, 31 points) won for the third time in a row.
Royer got the visitors started, drilling home a Felipe feed in the 16th minute as he scored in his third successive match. He has four goals during that span.
“It worked out quite well the past few games,” Royer said. “I’m happy about that, but as I say it’s a team effort and we are all working together. We are creating more chances, scoring more goals, so I think we had a lot goal scores the last few days and that’s really good. And now go with the flow.”
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Royer turned playmaker in the 67th, sending BWP a long pass down the right side. Wright-Phillips fought off a defender and fired a shot off the hand of goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth to give New York a vital insurance goal.
It was Wright-Phillips’ 10th goal, giving the English striker double digits in goals for four consecutive seasons.
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Team captain and midfielder Sacha Kljestan set up Muyl for the final tally in the 90th minute as the New York native scored into the roof of the net from 12 yards. Kljestan recorded his 43rd assist, breaking the team record he held with former Red Bulls standout Thierry Henry.
“I can’t say I’m not prou,” Kljestan said. “Obviously, to move in front of a guy like Thierry Henry is special and to do it in about two-and-a-half years says something, though I’m proud of it. I’m happy we got a win. Overall, I’m proud of my career so far with the Red Bulls, but hopefully its only just begun.”
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In extra time, Cameroonian defender Hassan Ndam made his professional debut as he replaced Sal Zizzo.
Scoring Summary:
