The New York Red Bulls picked up their first victory of the 2021 MLS season with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday at Red Bull Arena.
Christian Casseres Jr. scored the Red Bulls opener in the 47th minute and Caden Clark added a second in the 64th minute as the hosts pixked up their first win under head coach Gerhard Struber.
Story of the match
New York had the first chance of the match in the sixth minute as Frankie Amaya fed Fabio, but his shot from the right side of the Chicago box was just over the crossbar.
Chicago nearly took the lead in the 17th minute as Przsemyslaw Frankowski played a delightful pass along the ground for Robert Beric, who forced Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel into a brilliant save.
Luka Stojanovic had the visitors' next chance, but Coronel was again up to the task and at the other end, Clark saw his attempt well saved by Fire netminder Bobby Shuttleworth.
The Fire had probably their best two chances of the game, Luka Stojanovic seeing his 23rd minute effort from the top of the box stopped by Coronel and Francisco Calvo tried a bicycle kick in the 34h minute, also saved by the New York goalkeeper.
Inside of the final ten minutes of the first half, the hosts should have opened the scoring. First, Fabio hit the right post and three minutes later, Tom Barlow missed a golden opportunity after being set up by Sean Davis.
Two minutes after the restart, a much more aggressive and attacking New York side did take the lead as Fabio played in a delightful ball from the right, squaring back to Casseres Jr., whose shot from the edge of the box beat Shuttleworth.
The Red Bulls were looking for a second and in the 59th minute, Daniel Royer was in a good position with a free-kick just outside of the Chicago penalty box, but he hit it straight at Shuttleworth.
Five minutes later, the lead was doubled as Fabio again orchestrated the New York attack, clipping in Davis' ball toward the penalty spot and Clark ran onto it, beating Shuttleworth in the bottom right corner for his second goal of the season.
Aaron Long was next to test Shuttleworth as his header from a corner was well-saved by the Fire 'keeper. Davis crossed in for Royer, whose header just glanced by the Chicago goal on the right. He again headed wide on the follow-up chance.
In the 84th minute, Kyle Duncan, who led the attacking charge down the right-hand side, played in Omir Fernandez and his shot was tipped away by Shuttleworth in the bottom right corner.
Man of the match: Fabio
He was subbed off in the 68th minute, but he was vital to every attacking move the Red Bulls had. He had numerous brilliant passes to set up chances, but the one to set up Casseres Jr. stood out above the rest.
Takeaways
Red Bulls turn up the aggression in second half
The first 45 minutes saw New York play mainly through the middle where Chicago was able to clog up play. Defender Andrew Gutman was pushing up from the left, but after halftime, the Red Bulls settled in and found success down the right, dominating the action that eventually led to their two goals.
Clark continues to shine
The 17-year old produced another moment of magic with his volleyed goal that sealed the victory. In ten games with the Red Bulls, he's scored four times and when you watch him play, it's not hard to see how special he already is at such a young age.