DC United show resiliency in win over Red Bulls as RBNY vow to not change

It wasn't the prettiest three points they have ever taken home, but D.C. United won't care.

Dealing with many injuries — including former Red Bulls Felipetearing his ACL during practice on Tuesday — D.C. beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 on Wednesday night thanks to an Erik Sorga goal in the last seconds of the match. The win was United's first at Red Bull Arena since the 2012 playoffs.

“A gutsy performance from the guys, really proud,” said head coach Ben Olsen. “It was an easy game to throw in the towel but these guys showed a lot of resiliency. Extremely proud of them tonight.”

D.C. had come into the match with just one win on the season and were dismantled 4-1 by the Philadelphia Union in their last match.

“All we can do is continue to fight. And to get a win like this on the road is a great spark for us,” said Chris Seitz, who started in goal after Bill Hamid missed a second straight match. “It’s a great reminder that if we work hard, work as a group and play our brand of soccer, it doesn’t necessarily have to be pretty on the road. And if we do the right things we can grind out some results and today is a great reminder of that.”

The Red Bulls were coming off a 1-1 draw on the road against the New England Revolution, but failed to build on the momentum despite facing a shorthanded side. RBNY have just seven goals in nine games and haven't scored more than one goal in a game since their opener against FC Cincinnati.

"Look, who we are will not change," said head coach Chris Armas after the match. "We’re a team that can all-out press, we can defend in a midblock, and you see that teams either bypass it, hit long balls, hit big diagonals like in New England or sit back like Cincinnati and even D.C. tonight, sit back and look to counter."

We understand now that it’s pretty straightforward. We’re going to see how good we can become at playing against a low block and unlocking back lines, and then dealing with transitions and set pieces."

Armas turned to Tom Barlow up top again on Wednesday night, after the former Wisconsin Badger started against the Revs, but he has yet to find the back of the net in 2020.

The Red Bulls have tried a number of players in the attacking positions over the course of the season and Armas has even given 19-year-old Mathias Jorgensen chances off the bench in the last three games after the Dane did not appear in a MLS match after April in 2019. 

"I think that we have guys who can score goals, I know we do. Tom Barlow, imagine, he gets one that hits the goalkeeper, ricochets off his leg and then he hits the crossbar. We know that Kaku has final passes in him. We know that we have other midfielders that can join in and make plays. We know that other guys can score.

"I believe in the attackers, I believe in those guys, I see that they can hit the back of the net and I think they’re understanding more and more the demands of a game like this. The type of runs you need to make, the type of passes to deliver, the timing of these things, and then when it becomes your chance, can you finish decisively in front of the goal."