The New York Red Bulls have defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks by a score of 3-0 at Red Bull Arena. The match was a 4th round matchup of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Atlanta Silverbacks are part of the NASL, which is a lower North American league, than the MLS, which is the top league in North America. Prior to the game the Red Bulls vowed to take the U.S. Open Cup seriously, which they did in commanding form tonight. Last season the Atlanta Silverbacks finished in the bottom of the NASL with a record of 1-5-4.
Lloyd Sam opened the scoring off an assist by Bradley Wright Phillips, to put the Red Bulls up 1-0 in the 7th minute. They followed that up in the 15th minute when Ronald Zubar beat Silverbacks goalie Steward Ceus to make it 2-0. In the 23rd minute Lloyd Sam was forced out of the game due to a groin and ankle injury according to Franco Panzio. That would be all the scoring until the 70th minute when Sean Davis, who is a homegrown player scored an insurance goal to make it 3-0. That was Davis’ first professional goal. Tonight was Ronald Zubar’s first game action since getting injured in the season opener on March 8th.
The Red Bulls dominated all match long, outshooting the Silverbacks 8-1 in shots on goal. Luis Robles had an easy night, obviously only facing 1 shot and having to put no effort into stopping it. This was the Red Bulls first U.S. Open Cup win since beating 4th tier in the North American soccer tier amateur developmental league team, Reading United on May 28th, 2013. In the U.S. Open Cup the Red Bulls are 5-0 at RBA. The Red Bulls will next play in the US Open Cup in the Round of 16, taking place between June 30th and July 1st. The Red Bulls next play in the MLS on Saturday, June 20th - the Montreal Impact.
