A first half strike from midfielder Dave Van den Bergh gave the New York Red Bulls a well-deserved 1-0 victory over the Carolina Railhawks Saturday night in Cary, NC. The 5,500 fans that showed up to Wake-Med Soccer Park were treated to a dominating performance by New York, who controlled possession throughout the match and created the majority of the scoring chances. The Red Bulls opened the game with the following starting lineup: 

Conway

          Leitch                       Parke                     Goldwaithe

Ubiparipovic            Van den Bergh

  Sassano                                                                       Borman

Reyna

   Altidore                      Echeverry

Forward Juan Pablo Angel did not make the trip down to North Carolina due to a viral infection. 

The Red Bulls got off to a quick start, recording their first shot on goal in the 3^rd minute. A long ball from rookie winger Luke Sassano found Jozy Altidore behind the Carolina defense, but his one time shot was directly at Carolina keeper Chris McClellan. Eight minutes later, off a bad Carolina giveaway, Altidore slid a pass from the right wing to Claudio Reyna in the center of midfield. With an ample amount of space, the former United States international took a couple touches and unleashed a left-footed drive that was brilliantly pushed over the crossbar by McClellan. 

Early portions of the first half were characterized by New York’s definitive edge in possession and complete control of the midfield. New York finally broke through in the 27^th minute, off a Claudio Reyna corner kick. His inswinger to the far post was headed out by defender Kevin Goldwaithe to a wide open Dave Van den Bergh, about twenty yards from goal. The Dutch midfielder waited for the ball to drop to him, and his powerful left-footed volley found its way through traffic and into the upper left corner of the net.  

In the 41^st minute New York carved out another quality scoring opportunity. Good passing buildup in the midfield led to a Van den Bergh cross from the left that fell to Ubiparipovic far right. A clever pull back found Altidore in space, and his clever chip into the middle of the box was headed just over by Danleigh Borman. Two minutes later the Red Bulls hit the crossbar through newly signed forward Oscar Echeverry’s one time strike off of a low cross from Borman, and the MLS side entered the half a goal up on Carolina.

The second half was largely uneventful, with Carolina putting a bit more pressure on New York, but failing to construct any substantial attack. New York’s goalkeeper Jon Conway was tested a couple times by speedy Railhawk midfielder Martin Nunez, but managed to make a couple fine sliding stops on breakaway attempts. The diminutive Nunez, who was in fact in Red Bull’s training camp earlier this year, was by far the most impressive player on the field for Carolina. His pace and skill on the ball allowed him to get behind New York’s backline a few times, and he proved to be the only real threat for the Railhawks throughout the match.

A dull second half came to life in the 78^th minute, as newly introduced forward Chris Megaloudis picked up the ball on the left and cut back to the byline. But his left-footed near post strike was covered by McClellan. A minute later, John Wolnyiec’s shot from the top of the box flew just over the crossbar. 

The highlight of New York’s victory had to be the work of the backline, which severely limited any quality chances for Carolina. Central defender Jeff Parke displayed his dominant abilities, using his combination of speed and strength to control the defense. Midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic showed a lot of bite in central midfield, getting in his tackles and tracking back very well. This combination of a well-functioning backline and the support the midfield defensively helped preserve New York’s first clean sheet of the preseason. 

The Red Bulls will now prepare to host the Columbus Crew at Giants Stadium next Saturday April 5^th in their first game of the 2008 Major League Soccer season. 

Scoring Summary:NY: Van den Bergh (unassisted) 27′ 

Disciplinary SummaryNY: Ubiparapovic (caution) 13′ CAR: Stokes (caution) 87′ 

New York Red Bulls: Jon Conway (GK), Kevin Goldthwaite, Jeff Parke, Chris Leitch, Danleigh Borman (Kevin Mesa 72′), Dave van den Bergh, Sinisa Ubiparapovic, Luke Sassano (Carlos Mendes 57′), Claudio Reyna (Eric Brunner 76′), Jozy Altidore (John Wolyniec 57′), Oscar Echeverry (Chris Megaloudis) 

Substitutes Not Used: Zach Thornton, Seth Stammler 

Carolina RailHawks: Chris McClellan (GK), David Stokes, Steven Curfman, Frankie Sanfilippo, Richard Perdomo (Zeke Dombrowski 72′), Kupono Low, Martin Nunez, Chris Lemons, David Lilly (Santiago Fusilier 37′), Jacob Coggins (Marty Johnston 62′), Joel Bailey (Connally Edozien 37′)