John Wolyniec, the forgotten man, scored an 80th-minute goal to give the Red Bulls a 2-1 road win at San Jose in their U.S. Open Cup play-in game. And perhaps just as impoprtant, this time they actually found a way to hold onto the lead.

The Red Bulls had allowed a 90th-minute equalizer in a tie with New England, and on Sunday had allowed a 90th-minute equalizer and 91st-minute heartbreaker in a 3-2 loss to archrival D.C. But last night they killed off the game like pros to earn a May date with D.C. for revenge _ and a spot in the Open Cup Final 16.

“The Cup is certainly a tournament that is important to compete and try to win, especially for our club that’s never won a title,” said Juan Carlos Osorio. “It’s also important to be able to give all the players more playing time. We’re looking forward to our next round and to advance in the tournament.”

See full story and some video (thanks to Red Bulls Reader) after the jump.

They’d jumped out in the second minute, when San Jose’s Davide Somma tried to clear a Danleigh Borman cross but it bounced off Wolyniec and to Mike Petke.

“I was wide open at the back post waiting for the ball to get to me. I looked down and the ball was at my feet,” Petke said. “I hit it as hard as I could and was lucky for the easy opportunity to finish.”

Petke hasn’t played since having a bad giveaway in the season-opening 3-0 loss at Seattle, and Wolyniec had logged just four minutes this year. But after Pablo Campus took a throw-in from ex-Metro Chris Leitch and equalized in the 71st, Wolyniec was the hero.

Sinisa Ubiparipovic played a chip over the top to Dominic Oduro, who raced toward the endline and crossed to Wolyniec for the winner.