NYRB II blast Tampa Bay Rowdies with 5-0 win

New York Red Bulls II came away with a big win over Eastern Conference rivals Tampa Bay Rowdies by a score of 5-0 on Saturday.

Manager John Wolyniec made three changes to the squad that drew Richmond Kickers last weekend. Evan Louro started in goal with one change to the back four as Fidel Escobar replaced Jordan Scarlett. Ethan Kutler started at left back, Hassan Ndam started at the other center back position, while Niko de Vera remained at right back. Andrew Tinari dropped to the holding midfield in place of the injured Steven Echevarria alongside Cristian Cásseres. Jose Aguinaga started at the number “10” role, with Amando Moreno and Carlos Rivas flanking him. Stefano Bonomo was the lone striker.

NYRB II had a chance early when Moreno weaved his way past a couple of defenders and shot just wide.

NYRB II would control the game for much of the first half and had the first goal of the game 18 minutes in. Tinari’s corner was partially cleared, but Rivas was able to gather the ball and send a low cross which found Escobar whose shot found the bottom corner.

NYRB II continued to press the issue and nearly had a second after Rivas played in Bonomo who was denied by a great save from Mizell.

Despite a couple of half chances for Tampa Bay, NYRB II went into half with a comfortable 1-0 lead.

Wolyniec’s men came out better in the second half and it only took 8 minutes for them to double their advantage. Kutler played a ball into the channel for Bonomo and his layoff found Aguinaga and the midfielder curled one from 21 yards out into the far corner.

Tampa Bay had a big chance to cut the deficit in half after Kutler turned the ball over Leo Fernandes was able to pick Junior Flemmings on the far post, but Louro brilliantly denied him.

The baby bulls would make Tampa Bay rue their missed chance when they added a third in the 61st minute. Kutler sent in a cross that was helped on by Moreno and found Bonomo at the far post and the striker made no mistake.

Bonomo said it felt good to finally get his first goal of the season and hoped it would help him going forward.

It’s always good to open your account for the season, it gives yourself confidence, it gives the team confidence, it helps a lot.

Wolyniec decided to make a couple of changes as he sent on Chris Lema who made his USL debut for Moreno and Brian White on for Rivas.

It wouldn’t take White long to get on the score sheet. After some nice work from Bonomo to get the around the defender, the striker sent a low cross in and White tapped home for his third of the year.

White would add a second just before stoppage time when substitute Jared Stroud’s cross found him at the back post and the striker’s header found the far bottom corner to give NYRB II a 5-0 lead and a convincing win.

Wolyniec was happy with both of his strikers and the fact the competition will push them harder.

It’s great to see Bonomo get a goal, he’s had a couple injuries and illnesses which has kind of thrown off. It’s good to see him have a good game and put a lot into it. It makes me smile to see Brian (White) come off the bench and say hey what’s going on why I am not starting. We think highly of Brian and it’s going to be competitive, it’s not going to be easy to make decisions of who starts.

Evan Louro was also full of praise for his teammates and how they performed as a whole.

Tampa’s a really good team, we knew they were going to come in and push for a result. It was great for all the guys to get on the board and get some goals and for the backline to get a shutout.

NYRB II will look to continue their streak when they travel to take on LA Galaxy 2. The game will take place on Sunday, April 22, at 8:30 pm.