North Carolina FC 1 – 2 New York Red Bulls II
Cary, NC– You know you are watching a game with some strange energy on the pitch when the Town of Cary Police has to come onto the field at halftime to keep players away from the referee. So it was as North Carolina FC took on the New York Red Bulls II in their final home game of the 2018 USL season.
The two sides have been in a battle for the last playoff position in the Eastern Conference. North Carolina was holding down eighth place going into the game. A win would stand NCFC on firmer ground.
In addition to the prospect of moving up the table, New York was looking for its first road win of the 2018 campaign.
The game featured wide open play as both sides looked to break the game open. In the 4th minute, Red Bulls II forward Anatole Bertrand-Abang broke in on goalkeeper Alex Tambakis, but he blocked the initial shot and defender Wuilito Fernandes blocked the second attempt at the goal line to prevent New York from getting on the board early.
Austin da Luz, wearing the captain’s armband for North Carolina Saturday, nearly put the home team ahead. USL Player of the Week, Kyle Bekker labeled a cross for da Luz, but his header went just wide of the goal.
Red Bulls II scored the first goal of the game in the 24th minute. Off of a New York corner kick, NCFC defender Victor Igbekoyi tried to head the ball away from the goal, but instead it ended up on the head of Bertrand-Abang who nodded it past Tambakis for the 1-0 lead.
North Carolina looked like they would level the game in the 26th minute. Fernandes lofted a perfect pass to da Luz who headed the ball down to Donovan Ewolo. Ewolo, with his back to the New York goal, brought the ball down with his chest and turned around with a blast that Red Bulls II goalkeeper Evan Louro had to make a kick save to hold onto the lead.
Late in the first half, the home team suffered a setback when da Luz went down for the second time in the half with a leg injury. He was unable to continue in the game and Marios Lomis came on for him in the 43rd minute.
From the opening whistle, this promised to be a physical game. Referee Ismir Pekmic and his crew had their hands full handling a first half full of microaggressions that simmered until late in the first half. NCFC defender Aaron Guillen had been battling with NYRB II Bertrand-Abang throughout the first half. As the first half went into stoppage time, the chippiness between the two players escalated and Guillen was shown the yellow card.
Two minutes later, after Pekmic blew the whistle for halftime, Bertrand-Abang appeared to get into an altercation, drawing players and coaching staff from both teams toward Bertrand-Abang and the officiating crew. As arguing between Red Bulls II players and the officials continued, a few of the Cary police officers assigned to the game went onto the field, positioning themselves between the officials and the Red Bulls II players. Moments later, Pekmic, who had talked briefly with the assistant referee, reached into his pocket and showed Bertrand-Abang the red card.
When the players and staff were ushered into the locker rooms, the visiting New York Red Bulls II went down a man, but North Carolina FC was going to have to dig their way out of a deficit again if they wanted to hang onto that playoff spot.
North Carolina came out in the second half determined to take control of the game and owned the first ten minutes of the half. In the 52nd minute, midfielder Zach Steinberger spun away from the Red Bulls II defense and sent a cross into the 18-yard box. Bekker tapped the ball past Louro to level the match.
Eleven minutes later the home team nearly grabbed the lead. Bekker, who took over as captain when da Luz left the match, took a long corner that sailed over everyone’s head before dropping just outside of the 6-yard box. Steven Miller got to the loose ball and shot the ball from close range but Louro made another fantastic kick save.
North Carolina hit a pothole in the 78th minute. Fernandes sent a clearing pass right to the feet of Red Bulls II midfielder Andrew Tinari. Tinari drew the ball around the defense and pulled Tambakis out of his goal. Tambakis made the initial save on Tinari’s shot, but the rebound went to an unmarked Tom Barlow who buried his shot.
NCFC managed to get a couple good looks at goal in the dying moments of the match, but Louro was equal to the challenge. As the final whistle sounded, the New York Red Bulls II had leapfrogged over North Carolina into the eighth playoff spot.
Final Notes
- North Carolina FC was without forward Tiyi Shipalane, whose father passed away. The teams held a moment of silence to honor him before kickoff.
- The announced attendance of 8,820 was the largest regular season crowd to attend a North Carolina FC match in the team’s history.
- The loss to New York dropped NCFC to 10th place in the USL Eastern Conference. They can still make the playoffs, but they will need to be perfect in their last two games, both on the road.
- The next match for NCFC will be Tuesday, October 9th at Louisville City. This match was rescheduled from March 24th due to poor field conditions.
- North Carolina FC’s final match of the season will be at intrastate and Southern Derby rival Charlotte.
Lineups
North Carolina FC: A. Tambakis; DJ Taylor, A. Guillen, W. Fernandes, S. Miller; A. da Luz © (M. Lomis, 43’), G. Smith, Z. Steinberger (D. Rios, 82’), V. Igbekoyi (D. Fortune, 70’), K. Bekker; D. Ewolo
New York Red Bulls II: E. Louro; A. Yanes, K. Politz, H. Ndam, E. Kutler; C. Lema, S. Echevarria (T. Barlow, 46’), A. Tinari ©; J. Stroud (L. Stauffer, 80’), A. Bertrand-Abang, A. Moreno (J. Scarlett, 87’)
Score:
North Carolina FC: 1
New York Red Bulls II: 2
Goals:
NCFC: K. Bekker (52’ Z. Steinberger)
NYRB II: A. Bertrand-Abang (24’ Unassisted), T. Barrow (78’ Unassisted)
Discipline:
NCFC: Aaron Guillen (YC, 45’+)
NYRB II: — A. Bertrand-Abang (RC 45’+)
Attendance: 8,820
