HARRISON, N.J. — Florian Valot was arguably the New York Red Bulls best player in preseason, determined to put the disappointments of a second straight season cut short by matching ACL surgeries.
On Sunday at Red Bull Arena, he was the man of the match with a pair of assists to lead the Red Bulls to a season-opening 3-2 win over FC Cincinnati.
“It felt like it was my first MLS game ever. I was excited,” Valot told Pro Soccer USA. “I woke up early, checking my watch every 20 minutes for the time to go to the field. I’m going to keep that mentality all year because I’m just thankful to be here after two ACLs, just enjoying every minute I get.”
Kyle Duncan and Kaku scored 11 minutes apart in the first half and Danny Royer tacked on an insurance goal in the 70th minute for the Red Bulls, while Allan Cruz scored one minute into the second half for FC Cincinnati.
Duncan, who fired wide in the 10th minute after being played into space by Cristian Casseres, didn’t miss six minutes later to give the Red Bulls the early lead.
The sequence started with Royer’s sliding effort to keep the ball from going over the sideline. He then fed Valot, who turned and played to Duncan. The U.S. U-23 national team right back tapped over onrushing Cincinnati goalkeeper Spencer Richey for the goal.
“We all know what Kyle’s capable of, especially on the ball and going forward and we expect that kind of quality from him,” defender Tim Parker said. “I’m pretty sure that’s not the first time you’ll see that.”
One minute later, Royer nearly capitalized on an FC Cincinnati turnover in its defensive third, splitting a pair of defenders before poking his attempt just wide of the far post.
Valot then set up Kaku to double the Red Bulls lead in the 27th minute when the Paraguayan international beat Valot to a cross into the box and slipped his first-time shot into the net.
“We already know each other very well that’s very important,” Kaku said through a translator. “And once he picked up his head. He was able to see me.”
Intent on spoiling the opening day party, FC Cincinnati cut its deficit in half one minute into the second half when Allan Cruz slid in to connect with a Brandon Vazquez cross through Amro Tarek’s legs.
They responded again late when Jurgen Locadia netted his first goal on his MLS debut, touching his own rebound into the net in the 83rd minute after Royer doubled the hosts lead again 13 minutes earlier.
“I think the first half cost us a lot. I think we made a lot of mistakes,” said FC Cincinnati interim coach Yoann Damet, whose team remains on the road next Saturday to take on Atlanta United. “There was a lot of tension, positioning and the connection to the play wasn’t great. I think they attacked and we filled them with mistakes. The second half, I think we have to focus on that and build on that in the coming weeks.”
The Red Bulls who were without injured US men’s national team defender Aaron Long (hamstring) and goalkeeper Ryan Meara (groin), head to Rio Tinto Stadium to take on Real Salt Lake next Saturday.
They’ll do so with three points in their back pocket from a confidence-boosting win for one of the league’s youngest teams.
“I think they walk away from there with confidence, with the result, with creating chances, limiting chances and clarity on each side of the ball,” Red Bulls coach Chris Armas said. “With a young team, this is really important because nothing speaks stronger than experiencing that.”