Nyassi hat-trick turns New York into Red Bull themed Pinata 4-1
Whatever Sanna Nyassi had before the game (insert Red Bull joke), he needs to do it again next game…and the game after that for the rest of the season.
I arrived at the field 2 minutes late, just in time to hear DSGP erupt. Nyassi made a run into the box on a delicious give and from Cummings go that Sanna slotted into the top corner. Out of nowhere the Gambian hit a low shot in the 27′ from what seemed a foolishly long distance away. It was deceptively fast and struck the post, falling benevolently to the feet of Wells Thompson. Wells took a nervous first touch, but then calmly drove it under the goalie’s reach and into the net for the second goal of the night, Rapids 2-0.
In the 32′, Nyassi again turned absolutely nothing into something off an assist by Cummings and Moor. Nyassi took on 3 Red Bulls defender, zig-zagging and plunging a dagger into the heart of the back line. He buried his shot in the top left this time (just for variety sake), for his 2nd goal of the night, the third for the Rapids, effectively ending the match before halftime.
Not five minutes later, Cummings was back at it, setting up Wells with a low beauty behind the back line. An absolute sitter, all it needed was a touch into the open net, but Wells got his feet crossed up and shanked it. There is little doubt that the trumpets would’ve blown and Christ appeared in the clouds if Nyassi and Wells both registered braces in the first 45.
In the second half the Rapids offensive trio of Cummings/Thompson/Nyassi kept on trucking. In the 51′ the ultra-confident Wells let rip from 30 yards a low scorcher that Rost just finger-tipped wide. Cumings followed with a shot into the side netting off the corner play. In the 57′ a deflected Mullan pass sent Cummings, who just beat Rost to the bouncing ball, but his touch just went wide.
Then in the 61′ minute my brain actually exploded. Nyassi was fed the ball at about 30 yards, and made 3 Red Bulls defenders look…well let’s just say it was deja vu all over again, except this time it was a low driven ball under the goalie and in for a hat trick.
In the 66′, Henry showed his world class in a goal he’s probably scored 100 times. Agudelo cut the ball back to a trailing Henry who calmly passed it into the bottom corner…Pickens hadn’t a chance. Agudelo made more dangerous runs, and was really the only creative force of any kind for the Red Bulls.
Nyassi is just a different player in the middle. Previously we’ve seemed to place him on the right wing, where his crosses are mediocre. In the middle, it give us a speedy striker set with Cummings more South American or Spanish in appearance than your typical American/English target striker setup. It was fun to watch, and the results were staggering. Nyassi’s hat trick was the first since Casey’s in 2009, and he looked constantly dangerous when he turned on defenders and made devastating runs through the middle. Now can he do this on defenses like LA or RSL?
Cummings is regaining the form we all know, with several half chances of his own to score, and a remarkable trio of assists. Wells is never the most technical of players, but his speed alongside Nyassi gave the Rapids midfield a pace we’ve been sorely lacking with our solid (but aging) midfield.
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