Hall at the Double as Red Bulls Cruise Past Riverhounds in Open Cup

The New York Red Bulls booked their place in the last 16 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a commanding 3-1 victory over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

In what was the first ever meeting between the two sides, it was the MLS outfit who controlled proceedings from the outset. Captain Emil Forsberg opened the scoring after 25 minutes, curling a superb free kick into the top right corner from just outside the box, his second set-piece goal of the season.

The Red Bulls doubled their advantage just three minutes later. Forsberg was again at the heart of the move, linking up with Nehuen Benedetti, who slipped a perfectly weighted pass through to Julian Hall. The 17-year-old showed composure beyond his years to slot past Nico Campuzano and make it 2-0.

Michael Bradley’s side took that lead into the break and wasted little time extending it after the restart. Just two minutes into the second half, Forsberg played Hall in behind once more, and although his effort took a deflection off the goalkeeper, it found the net to give the teenager his second of the night and his seventh goal across all competitions this season.

Pittsburgh did manage a late consolation on 79 minutes, as Trevor Amann rose to head home from a corner at the near post, but it did little to disrupt what was otherwise a dominant Red Bulls performance.

The result sees New York advance to the Round of 16, where they will face rivals New York City FC in a Hudson River Derby clash, with U.S. Soccer yet to confirm the date and time.

There were further positives for the hosts, with head coach Michael Bradley securing his first U.S. Open Cup win, while goalkeeper John McCarthy extended his unbeaten run in the competition to 11 matches. The victory also continues the club’s strong home form in the tournament, stretching their unbeaten streak at home to 15 games.

Full-time: New York Red Bulls 3, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 1.