Aside from a brief moment of brilliance from Ruben Bover, the Red Bulls' penultimate pre-season game against Brazilian side Fluminense U-23 wasn't the prettiest affair.
Playing through intermittent downpours, something approximating the Red Bulls' starting line-up labored through a first half that saw a few missed half-opportunities on their part. In the second half, the young players opened the game up a bit and in the 74th minute, Bover slammed home a free kick to put the Red Bulls up 1-0, where it'd stay for the balance of the game.
Aside from Bover, who scored his second goal in as many games, Ryan Meara had a good showing, as did Lloyd Sam. Kosuke Kimura was active up and down the right side as well.
The Red Bulls will play in the Disney Pro Soccer Classic final March 1.
The lineups...
Red Bulls: Ryan Meara (Santiago Castano 70'), Kosuke Kimura (Chris Duvall* 70'), Jamison Olave (Matt Miazga 68'), Armando (Ibrahim Sekagya 68'), Roy Miller (Ambroise Oyongo* 70'), Lloyd Sam (Connor Lade 70'), Eric Alexander (Michael Bustamante 68'), Dax McCarty (Ruben Bover 68'), Jonny Steele (Marius Obekop 70'), Bradley Wright-Phillips (Andre Akpan 72'), Thierry Henry (Peguy Luyindula 72')
Fluminense U-23: Klever, Igor Juliao, Nogueira, Fabio Braga (Matheus Carvalho 83'), Diego, Robert (Joao 83'), Luiz Fernando, Rodrigo, Eduardo, Marlon, Bryan (Pablo 59')