The New York Red bulls began their brand new season with a 15% capacity with their fans at Red Bull Arena,It might not be the fully packed crowd that we are use to seeing, but with this pandemic still lurking around we have to endure this type of situation and hope somewhere down the line we can get an increase by the office of New JErsey Governer Phil Murphy as the season continues down the road.

But this is the start of the Gerhard Struber era, and we saw a squad that looked ready to go. They looked strong in the defense, worked the ball well as they brought it up the field, and showed some poise with a solid opening half to the season. While they didn’t score in the first 45 minutes, they would be able to carry over their pressing style into the second half.

Caden Clark would finally get his first goal at Red Bull Arena as the club would take the lead in the 48th minute. The ball went down the near side of the field, a nice long cross by Kyle Duncan that was headed away from the defense, but Clark with a mid-air smack that beats the keeper to open the scoring,. An amazing right leg swing while ousing his left leg as balance to hit that ball one time.

But with a few new faces for the Red Bulls, they hit the level of distraction and complacency as they conceded two goals in a manner of two- minutes. Defender Andrew Gutman who was defending the ball inside his area had his right arm in an unnatural position as he blocked the cross with his right hand. Referee blows his whistle and pointed to the spot. The penalty was converted by Gadi Kinda to level it at one, then in the 60th minute, the Red Bulls were very loose and allowed a second goalDaniel SaSAlloi slammed home it home.

While the Red Bulls did get back to their pressing ways, they couldn’t find a way to break through that Sporting Kansas City defense. Once they get the lead, it’s hard to break through that Peter Vermes defense that he has been known to do as a former player and a member of the US Men’s national Team.

While the result didn’t go their way, you can see what the Red Bulls are trying to do. While the 4-2-3-1 is gone, the 4-4-2 has returned, especially the midfield in a diamond formation. With a few new fresh faces trying to mesh with the current roster, this result was a tough pill to swallow, but if they can keep their head screwed on right, they could improve and make a nice jump. But for now it’s one game, and they wll need several more to make sure their chemistry needs to be just right to become a threat to the league.