Ironmen Players Help Palace Shock Pathetic RBNY; Local Fe26 Returns Home

Gary Brooks - Image From MetroFanatic

Some of us from the Local Fe26 made the trek down to Annapolis last night to help the Empire Supporters Club cheer on Red Bull New York in their third round matchup against Crystal Palace Baltimore in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. We endured hours of crawling traffic delays on I-95 only to witness our team stink up the field with one of the most inept and uninspiring performances that many of us have ever seen. Despite being up a man for most of the match, the lackluster Red Bulls were unable to generate any sustained pressure and ultimately fell by a count of 2-0 to a lively Palace side that looked well organized. Palace's victory is even more shocking considering that they play in the USL-2, which is two levels below the MLS on the U.S. soccer pyramid.

It was, however, nice to see Ironmen players assume staring roles for Palace in their win. Gary Brooks proved to be a handful for Red Bull defenders for most of the match. Brooks sealed the Red Bulls' fate in the 75th minute when he banged a cross from the left wing past a diving Zach Thornton for Palace's second goal of the night. Brooks led the way for the Palace offense with three shots on target.

Ibrahim Kante anchored the Palace defense before being sent off with a straight red card towards the end of the first half. Kante spent most of his time marking Mike Magee and Chris Megaloudis, who were both rendered ineffective throughout the match.

On the other side of the ledger, former Ironmen and newly signed Red Bull Gordon Kljestan started in the midfield and played the first half before being subbed out in favor of John Wolyniec.

Palace's win sets them up for a quarterfinal showdown with the New England Revolution in New Britain Conn. Check the US Open Cup website for game time and exact venue location.