Julian Hall starts the surge as Red Bulls beat San Diego FC 4-1

Twelve minutes that broke the match open

New York did not spend long easing into the evening. The first goal arrived in the 15th minute when Julian Hall finished from very close range, a left-footed shot into the centre of the net after Jorge Ruvalcaba set him up. It was the kind of simple, punishing finish that changes the tone of a match quickly, and it proved to be only the start of a hectic stretch.

Five minutes later, the Red Bulls doubled the lead through Devin Padelford. Cade Cowell supplied the cross after a corner, and Padelford met it with a header from the centre of the box that found the bottom-right corner. By the 27th minute it was 3-0, Ruvalcaba scoring from a difficult angle on the right after Ronald Donkor played the through ball. Three goals, three different finishers and three different kinds of chances gave the home side a varied first-half scoring burst rather than a one-note run.

The individual numbers matched that early punch. Hall finished with seven shots and put six of them on target, the busiest shooting line of the match. Ruvalcaba added four shots to go with a goal and an assist, while Cowell took six shots and contributed the assist on Padelford's header. By full time, New York had produced 28 shots and 12 on target, a total that made the fast start look less like a hot streak and more like the shape of the whole match.

San Diego had the ball, but New York had the finish

San Diego did find a second-half goal and, for a moment, a possible route back into the night. In the 60th minute, Cédric Bakambu finished with his left foot from the centre of the box to the bottom-right corner after Anders Dreyer sent in the cross. Bakambu ended with three shots and two on target, giving San Diego one of its few efficient individual attacking returns.

The broader numbers, though, tell a frustrating story for the visitors. San Diego held 63.1 per cent possession, completed 460 passes and won seven corners. Yet that territorial edge became only 14 shots and five efforts on target. Ethan Horvath was required for four saves in the Red Bulls goal, but CJ dos Santos faced a far heavier workload at the other end and made eight saves while conceding four times. That split captures the night neatly: San Diego circulated the ball, New York generated the fuller volume of danger.

Any remaining tension disappeared deep into stoppage time. Eric Choupo-Moting, on as a substitute, scored in the 90th minute plus three with a right-footed finish from the centre of the box into the bottom-left corner. Matthew Dos Santos provided the assist after a set-piece situation. It was a tidy closing touch for a team that already had the result in hand, and it restored the three-goal margin that New York's first half had earned.

Our take: the scoreline followed the sharpest moments

Possession can frame a match, but it does not always define it, and this was one of those nights. San Diego finished with nearly two-thirds of the ball, more passes and more corners. New York finished with twice as many shots, more than twice as many shots on target and a 3-0 lead before the half-hour mark. That is not a subtle difference. The Red Bulls were the team that repeatedly turned promising moments into final actions, and the result followed that edge.

There is also something encouraging for New York in the way the goals were shared around. Hall scored, Padelford scored, Ruvalcaba scored and Choupo-Moting scored. Ruvalcaba, Cowell, Donkor and Dos Santos all registered assists. When one player carries everything, a big attacking night can be hard to trust from week to week. When production comes from multiple runners and multiple chance types, it looks sturdier.

For San Diego, the lesson is not that possession failed; it is that possession needs protection from the start. Conceding three times by the 27th minute left very little margin for a patient recovery, even with 63.1 per cent of the ball by the end. For New York, the only obvious caution is the foul count. The Red Bulls committed 20 fouls, and on a less efficient shooting night that kind of giveaway number can invite more trouble than it did here. Still, the defining image of this match was simple: Hall lit the first spark, and San Diego spent the rest of the night chasing a game that had already tilted hard against it.

Scoring moments

1. Period 1 · 15'

   Julian Hall scored for New York Red Bulls in minute 15. The assist went to Jorge Ruvalcaba.

2. Period 1 · 20'

   Devin Padelford scored for New York Red Bulls in minute 20. The assist went to Cade Cowell.

3. Period 1 · 27'

   Jorge Ruvalcaba scored for New York Red Bulls in minute 27. The assist went to Ronald Donkor.

4. Period 2 · 60'

   Cédric Bakambu scored for San Diego in minute 60. The assist went to Anders Dreyer.

5. Period 2 · 90'+3'

   Eric Choupo-Moting scored for New York Red Bulls in minute 90'+3. The assist went to Matthew Dos Santos.