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New York Red Bulls Vs Orlando City: 3 things we learned – Sacha Kljestan haunts NYRB

By Chris Smith

HARRISON, NJ - MARCH 23: Sacha Kljestan #16 of Orlando City celebrates his goal with teammates during 2nd half of the MLS match between Orlando City SC and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on March 23, 2019 in Harrison, NJ, USA. Orlando City SC won the match with a score of 1 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
HARRISON, NJ - MARCH 23: Sacha Kljestan #16 of Orlando City celebrates his goal with teammates during 2nd half of the MLS match between Orlando City SC and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on March 23, 2019 in Harrison, NJ, USA. Orlando City SC won the match with a score of 1 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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New York Red Bulls, Orlando City, Sacha Kljestan
HARRISON, NJ – MARCH 23: Sacha Kljestan #16 of Orlando City celebrates his goal with teammates during 2nd half of the MLS match between Orlando City SC and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on March 23, 2019 in Harrison, NJ, USA. Orlando City SC won the match with a score of 1 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images) /

Orlando City pulled off a shock 1-0 win away to New York Red Bulls on Saturday night. Here are three things we learned from the game.

Orlando City inflicted a shock 1-0 win over New York Red Bulls on Saturday, lifting them to fifth in the Eastern Conference table. The Lions were organised and disciplined in defence, ambitious in possession and dangerous on the counter-attack, testing Chris Armas’ defence on a number of occasions throughout the evening.

And James O’Connor’s men were finally rewarded for their impressive performance in the 73rd minute when former NYRB man, Sacha Kljestan, latched onto a Joao Moutinho cross to fire home against his old side and give Orlando their first win of the 2019 MLS season.

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For the Red Bulls, this defeat means they have now won, drawn and lost in each of their first three domestic games this season and are struggling to show the high-pressing, intense style that helped them win Supporters Shield so impressively last season.

But what did we learn as NYRB’s nine-game MLS unbeaten run at Red Bull Arena was ended? Read on to find out.

HARRISON, NJ – FEBRUARY 27: New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips (99) during the first half of the CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 Soccer game between the New York Red Bulls and Atletico Pantoja on February 27, 2019 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
HARRISON, NJ – FEBRUARY 27: New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips (99) during the first half of the CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 Soccer game between the New York Red Bulls and Atletico Pantoja on February 27, 2019 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Blunt Red Bulls

‘See that guy up front with the double-barrelled surname? Yeah, he’s absolutely amazing in front of goal. Get the ball to him in the box and we’ll be alright.’ Ah, if only Chris Armas had of given a team talk along those lines either before Saturday night’s game, maybe the Red Bulls would have steamrolled Orlando just as everybody expected them to.

Instead, the Supporters’ Shield holders seemed to toil with the ball in their own back four and at the base of midfield without showing any real ambition to penetrate an often generous Orlando backline.

In fact, Bradley Wright-Phillips was restricted to a mere three touches in Orlando’s box. Three! To put that into perspective, Orlando’s Dom Dwyer came on for the final half-hour and managed four touches in the NYRB box.

Wright-Phillips was restricted to half chances and speculative efforts; the one tangible chance he did have at goal was manufactured by himself on the edge of the box and comfortably tipped wide by Brian Rowe.

Fair enough, NYRB were disrupted by injuries and international call-ups, but Armas still had enough quality at his disposal on Saturday to see off one of the worst defences in MLS.

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