Ben Mines scored in the first half and Bradley Wright-Phillips and Carlos Rivas tacked on insurance goals in the second half for a reserve-filled New York Red Bulls in a 4-0 win over the Portland Timbers Saturday night at Red Bull Arena.
On his debut, Mines gave the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute, completing a well-worked sequence that started with Derrick Etienne Jr and Carlos Rivas playing a quick one-two.
Etienne spun and escaped into space and played to Alejandro “Kaku” Romero Gamarra on his left. Kaku sent a low cross to the back post where Mines - the Homegrown 17-year-old - tapped in for his first MLS goal. Per Elias Sports Bureau, he is the fifth-youngest player to earn an MLS start in club history and the third-youngest to score, behind Eddie Gaven and Jozy Altidore.
Bradley Wright-Phillips and Carlos Rivas tacked on two goals in a three-minute span to put the game away. After Sean Davis latched onto Vincent Bezecourt's corner kick, Wright-Phillips headed in from the edge of the six. Three minutes later, Rivas scored his first goal in a Red Bulls uniform to close out an impressive performance and Rivas added the final goal in stoppage time.
Goals
- 18’ — NY — Ben Mines Watch
- 77’ — NY — Bradley Wright-Phillips Watch
- 80’ — NY — Carlos Rivas
- 90’+3’ — NY — Carlos Rivas
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: With the second leg of the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals against Club Tijuana coming Tuesday, Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch was always going to rotate this lineup. Marsch, who made nine changes from the side that beat Xolos, 2-0, at Estadio Caliente, played the kids and they repaid his confidence.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It was a dream debut for Mines, who was signed to a Homegrown contract just two months ago. He made a perfect back-post run, latched onto a Kaku service and slid in to finish clinically.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Derrick Etienne Jr. didn't score a goal, but he was influential in the attacking third from the first minute from his skill on the ball to assisting the opener.
Next up:
- NY: Tuesday, March 13 — Club Tijuana, Concacaf Champions League (8 pm ET | UDN - Full TV & streaming info)
- POR: Saturday, March 24 — at FC Dallas (3:30 pm ET | Univision - Full TV & streaming info)
