Red Bulls show fight in MLS Cup final but brutal title drought continues

The torture and tease that has been so cruelly woven into the fabric of Red Bulls history [https://nypost.com/2024/12/07/sports/upstart-red-bulls-have-shot-to-end-franchises-28-year-title-drought/] carried on with their devastating 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup final [http://By Mark Cannizzaro The torture and tease that has been so cruelly woven into the fabric of Red Bulls history carried on with their devastating 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup final Saturday in Los Angeles. The Red Bulls are one of Major League Soccer’s original 10 clubs, having played all 28 seasons, spanning 923 regular-season matches and, after Saturday, 60 in the postseason. They waited a long time for the moment that sat tantalizingly before them on Saturday, and after the loss to the heavily favored Galaxy, the Red Bulls will have to wait at least another year in their never-ending quest to hoist the MLS Cup for the first time. That the Red Bulls even reached this match was nothing short of remarkable. They amassed 17 fewer points (47) than the Galaxy (64) in the regular season. The Galaxy were the No. 3 overall seed with the third-most points in the regular season compared to the Red Bulls as the 16th overall seed. The Galaxy entered Saturday’s final having lost only one match at home in the 17 played there this season. They finished 14-1-3 at home. The Galaxy entered the match, by far, the more decorated franchise between the two, having already won five MLS Cups to RBNY’s none. Because of all of this, the thought of the Red Bulls winning the Cup for the first time seemed also too much to wish for — even for the most diehard of supporters. Yet Saturday being the moment for the drought to end felt fitting considering the club’s first match in franchise history came against the Galaxy on April 13, 1996, before 69,255 at the Rose Bowl. Maybe kismet would be at play. They were called the MetroStars back then and were 2-1 losers that day, same as they were on Saturday. Credit the Red Bulls for somehow allowing themselves not to be boat-raced out of LA in shame after a dreadful start to the match, with the Galaxy scoring two goals in the first 13 minutes and completely outclassing the visitors. The Galaxy took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute when Joseph Paintsil took a wonderful ball through the Red Bulls defense from Gaston Brugman and pushed it past RBNY keeper Carlos Coronel, who got a piece of the ball, but not enough of it. They made it 2-0 on a Dejan Joveljic goal from a Mark Delgado feed in the 13th minute. The Red Bulls looked tentative and rattled and looked like they were going to be blown out. That changed dramatically in the 28th minute, though, when Red Bulls defender Sean Nealis cut the lead to 2-1, settling a ball in amidst a chaotic scramble in front of the LA goal and volleyed it into the back of the net. The goal by Nealis, just the fourth of his six-year career, settled the Red Bulls down, allowed them to find their aggressiveness and made it a game. That, however, is all the Red Bulls were able to deliver offensively, missing on several chances in the second half as LA would hold on and win its sixth Cup. It was a devastating end for the 2,000-plus Red Bulls supporters who made the trip out West and were heard chanting throughout the game. This Red Bulls team was underwhelming for most of the regular season with 11 wins, 9 losses and 14 draws. But the team got healthy and hot entering the playoffs and turned this into a postseason of magic and unexpected hope. Yet, there was some hater sentiment on social media leading up to this match that the Red Bulls’ presence in the MLS Cup final somehow sullied or soiled the match because of their mediocre record and low seeding. This was nonsensical chatter. This is the same RBNY franchise that won the Supporters’ Shield three times (2013, ’15 and ’18) and was unable to get over the line and win the Cup. Yet I never heard anyone complain that the RBNY regular-season prowess should have ordained them Cup champions. The Red Bulls, despite their nondescript regular season, earned their way into this final because they got healthier (midfielder Emil Forsberg, who makes the engine go, returned from injury) and tactically changed the way they operated once the postseason began, specifically fortifying their back line. And it worked. Right up until Saturday in LA. And now, the Red Bulls’ wait for a first MLS Cup cruelly carries on to a 29th year.] Saturday in Los Angeles. The Red Bulls are one of Major League Soccer’s original 10 clubs, having played all 28 seasons, spanning 923 regular-season matches and, after Saturday, 60 in the postseason. They waited a long time for the moment that sat tantalizingly before them on Saturday, and after the loss to the heavily favored Galaxy, the Red Bulls will have to wait at least another year in their never-ending quest to hoist the MLS Cup for the first time. That the Red Bulls even reached this match was nothing short of remarkable.