Red Bulls win in U.S. Open Cup

New York defeated the Philadelphia Union for the second time in two weeks on Tuesday night, earning a 2-1 victory against their rivals in a US Open Cup preliminary match held at Red Bull Arena.  Rookie striker Conor Chinn netted a double for the hosts, while Sebastien Le Toux got another goal for Philly.

A notable aspect of Metro's win was the fact that the game essentially amounted to a JV vs Varsity scrimmage, and the young guns came out on top.  Head coach Hans Backe kept only one starter from Saturday's victory, giving newcomer Brian Nielsen another start to better acclimate himself to the team.  Greg Sutton started in goal, with Borman, Mendes, Boyens, and Sassano rounding out the defense.  Nielsen, Stammler, Tchani, and Ubiparipovic started at midfield, and rookies Conor Chinn and Juan Agudelo were both awarded starts at forward.  Meanwhile Philadelphia coach Peter Nowak's starting eleven had few changes from this weekend and consisted largely of usual starters.  That should make the Union's second straight loss to Metro all that more embarrassing.

New York had an excellent first half, dominating in both possession and chances.  It was the young striker Conor  Chinn who capitalized for on these early opportunities, scoring his first goal of the match in the 16th minute.  Brian Nielsen, who looked dangerous throughout the night but could probably use more time training with the team, lofted a cross into the box which was cleared to Seth Stammler.  Stammler shot, and his attempt was deflected towards Chinn who forced the ball past Philly keeper Chris Seitz, cleaning up his own rebound.  Chinn would score again in the 41st minute, when an excellent pass from Sinisa sprung Sassano down the right.  Sassano sent Chinn a nice low cross, and he clumsily sent it back into the net.  Not the prettiest pair of goals, but they both went in.

Halftime saw Chris Alrbight come in for Carlos Mendes, and Sassono move to center back while Alrbight played on the right.  New York continued to possess the ball well and push forward often, but it got caught on with its defenders far up the field and chasing the ball in the 68th minute, when Sebastien Le Toux got one back for the visitors.  As it did in the past couple games, New York fell into a bit of a shell when it was only up by a goal, but it managed to hold on for the full 90 minutes and secure a win, moving forward in the tournament in the process.

The reserves all looked good and proved that they wouldn't look out of place in the starting line up.  Some had better games than others, with Chinn, Stammler, Sassano, and Borman standing out.  It is comforting to know that Metro finally has some legitimate depth on the team, although new signings and players coming off of long term injuries will probably lead to some of these players being cut or traded.

Dave Braneck is a blogger and an all around soccer fan who represents North Jersey to the fullest and contributes to Dailyharrison.com

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