MATT KREMKAU - EMPIRE OF SOCCER

by DAVE MARTINEZ

Welcome to the Red Bulls, Omer Damari.

With New York down a goal and struggling to find their footing against Alianza, Damari played hero for the Red Bulls, coming off the bench and scoring the defining goal in a 1-1 draw in El Salvador.

“It was a really hard fought game,” head coach Jesse Marsch said. “I thought Alianza was very organized, very well coached, played with a lot of heart and desire, great crowd, hard place to play, and made it hard to play for 90 minutes.

“We are a bit lucky to get out of here with a 1-1 draw.”

New York introduced a first team-heavy starting XI, with Luis Robles in net, Aurelien Collin in defense, Sean Davis and Felipe in midfield, and Gonzalo Veron joining Bradley Wright-Phillips in attack.

Both teams played to a physical first half as Alianza knocked New York off of their pressing game, causing confusion in the midfield. However, the game broke open in Alianza’s favor in the early part of the second half, culminating in a fantastic dead ball goal from defender Alexander Larin.

New York continued to struggle in their search for form. However, the insertion of Sacha Kljestan and Omer Damari changed the complexion of the match for good. With the ball rattling in the Alianza third, Damari played cleanup on his opportunity, beating keeper Oscar Arroyo from short range to tie the match. Bradley Wright-Phillips nearly put New York on top in the waning minutes of the match, but his shot on net was saved at the goal line by the Alianza defense.

With the draw, New York now leads Group F of the CONCACAF Champions League tournament with four points. Alianza trails with a single point in their only match. Antigua sits last with zero points.

New York now look ahead to Saturday where they face DC United at RFK.