Elias Manoel is in agony after failing to score on a header. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)
The Red Bulls continued their horrendous results on the road on Saturday night as they remained winless ina 1-0 loss against the 10-man Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field.
They are 0-4-4 away from Red Bull Arena and have scored 10 goals in 15 matches, tied for the second lowest total in MLS.
That’s a major reason why the Red Bulls (3-5-7, 18 points) are in 13th place in the Eastern Conference.
Jordan Morris’ 22nd-minute goal decided the match for the Sounders (8-5-2, 26 points), who are in first place in the Western Conference. That was his ninth goal of the season, only one behind the hapless Red Bulls’ attack.
“We started the match too slow,” Red Bulls head coach Troy Lesesne said. “And when you start to slow and you let Seattle a team like this, control the tempo and create chances then they’re going to be good enough to hurt you.”
The Red Bulls played with a man advantage after Joao Paulo was given his second yellow card after fouling Luquinhas from behind in the 75th minute.
“Anytime you’re playing against 10 men they’re just going to pack it in the box,” defender John Tolkin said. “Think you can see it across the world. It’s not always easy to break down these teams. Obviously, that’s something we’re in the progress of working on. I’d say we had the chances to tie this thing up, maybe even sneak away with a win. … It’s just a matter of finishing them.”
Morris scored in the 22nd minute, slamming home Leo Chu’s left-wing cross from six yards past goalkeeper Carlos Coronel.
He suffered a groin injury on the play and was forced to leave the match.
“So that stopped some of the naysayers about him not scoring,” Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “I thought Jordan was very, very good. [The injury is] nothing significant. It’s an adductor strain, groin injury, however you guys want to phrase it. He thinks he’ll be back in two weeks.”
The Red Bulls will have less than two weeks to get their attacking act together. They visit Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
