John Tolkin scored his first MLS goal and Carlos Coronel made four spectacular saves to lead the New York Red Bulls to a 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena.
It was a huge win for a Red Bulls side that snapped a seven-match winless streak overall and won at home for the first time since a 2-0 victory over Nashville SC on June 18. Meanwhile, the reeling Crew suffered a fifth straight defeat.
The sequence that led to Tolkin’s goal started with the fullback-turned-midfielder winning a challenge for the ball in his defensive third and finished with him on the end of a combination with Fabio before cutting back to his right to nutmeg Eloy Room in the 33rd minute.
Gyasi Zardes had a golden chance at the equalizer just before halftime when he was played behind the Red Bulls defense on a breakaway. But Coronel kicked away the low shot and Zardes walked off gingerly, feeling his left hamstring, a worrying sign for Crew coach Caleb Porter and US men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter with World Cup qualifiers coming next month.
Coronel came up big again two minutes into the second half, denying Kevin Molino from close range for the second time. His best save might have come late when he dove to his left to get a hand on a crafty first-time attempt from Bradley Wright-Phillips during his first match back at the building where his No. 99 is retired.
The Crew thought they had a stoppage-time equalizer, but Erik Hurtado was called for barging Tolkin over from behind just before the final whistle.
Goals
- 33’ – RBNY – John Tolkin | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: What a difference 90 minutes makes for the Red Bulls. A few days removed from questions about the club’s run of 11 consecutive postseason appearances being in jeopardy, New York pick up three massive points ahead of a Heineken Rivalry Week clash against NYCFC on the weekend. It’s also the first of four straight games at RBA, where the Red Bulls were winless in their last three.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Tolkin did the work defensively and earned the glory on the other end with the nutmeg finish.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Coronel was huge when the Red Bulls needed him most. The Brazilian goalkeeper, who was at the center of that wild late penalty kick sequence at Stade Saputo last Saturday, earned his sixth clean sheet with all four of his saves of the game-changing variety, including this one against Molino early in the second half.
Next Up
- RBNY: Heineken Rivalry Week match: Saturday, August 21 vs. New York City FC | 8 pm ET (FS1, FOX Deportes)
- CLB: Saturday, August 21 vs. Seattle Sounders | 5:30 pm ET (FOX, FOX Deportes)
