Red Bulls midfielder Lewis Morgan (10) celebrates his goal while Inter Miami defender Damion Lowe is in despair. (Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)

By Michael Lewis
FrontRowSoccer.com Editor

For the first time in two months, the Red Bulls had something to celebrate at Red Bull Arena.

A victory.

Yes, folks, they actually recorded a win in their own stadium as they took advantage of playing with a man advantage for an hour, thanks to a red card, en route to a 3-1 triumph over Inter Miami CF on Saturday night.

The win was only the fourth at home this season (4-5-5 mark) against a winning record on the road (8-3-3).

Go figure that one out.

The Red Bulls had last won a league match at RBA on June 30, when they defeated Atlanta United, 2-1. That’s almost two months as they broke a four-game home winless streak (0-3-1).

Regardless, a win is a win and three points are three points. Those points solidified the Red Bulls’ hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 12-8-8 mark and 44 points. Miami (10-11-6, 36) had its five-game unbeaten streak snapped.

Daniel Edelman, in his fourth MLS start, snapped a 1-1 deadlock in the 53rd minute as he volleyed home a Cristian Casseres, Jr. feed from the top of the box. Lewis Morgan scored the equalizer and second-half substitute Caden Clark added an insurance tally.

The Red Bulls’ best attacking option, Brazilian midfielder Luquinhas, did not even dress for the match as head coach Gerhard Struber did not want to take a chance with a leg injury the player suffered during training in the week.

Things turned out well without Luquinhas, but not without some drama.

Argentine standout Gonzalo Higuain lifted the visitors into the lead with a nifty free kick from just outside he box in the 19th minute. After Andres Reyes fouled Ariel Lassiter just outside the penalty area, Higuain drilled his shot into the upper right corner of the net past goalkeeper Carlos Coronel.

Five minutes later, the Red Bulls thought they had equalized as Cristian Casseres Jr. put the ball into the back of the net from the right side of the penalty area, but Patrick Klimala was ruled to be offside.

Then came a game-changing play in the 27th minute when Alejandro Pozuelo kicked Reyes in his chest. At first, referee Fotis Bazakos showed Pozuelo a yellow card, but after checking in with VAR, Pozuelo saw red from the man in the middle in the 29th minute, forcing Miami to play the rest of the match with 10 men.

The extra man worked to the Red Bulls’ advantage in the 43rd minute, when Morgan scored his 12th goal of the season and 50th of his MLS career. The veteran midfielder took the ball off a backheel pass from John Tolkin and slipped the ball past goalkeeper Drake Callender.

At halftime, Miami head coach Phil Neville pulled Higuain, putting his team at a further disadvantage.

The Red Bulls, however, made it interesting as right back Kyle Duncan was sent off in the 70th minute for accruing his second yellow card on a rather dubious foul. That pulled the teams even at 10 players apiece.

Yet, the hosts managed to put the game away as Clark, only five minutes after coming on for Dru Yearwood, chested a Dylan Nealis feed and scored from six yards on the left side to up their lead to 3-1 in the 74th minute. Nealis had replaced team captain Aaron Long in the 68th minute. The goal snapped a long scoreless drought for Clark, who hadn’t found the net in an MLS match since May 2021.

Just as important was that the Red Bulls ended a four-game home winless skid with only six games remaining in the regular season.

 

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.