The Red Bulls officially announced the signing of Daniel Royer before Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions League opener, a 3-0 win over Antigua GFC at Red Bull Arena, and league sources told The Post they got their loan deal for Omer Damari done just under the wire as well.
As they said on “The Wire,” Omer is coming. And the 27-year-old striker – who has nine goals for Israel in 20 games – will bring some added forward depth for a team in glaring need of it, as well as get a chance to regain the form that made him a fairly pricey European transfer and a red-hot international scorer.
With the league transfer window closing at 1 a.m. on Thursday morning, the loan deal for Damari came down to beating the deadline. But with all parties interested in getting the deal done, the Israeli National Team striker completed his loan move from RB Leipzig across the Atlantic to their sister club in New York.
After being a prolific scorer for Hapoel Tel Aviv and then Austria Vienna, Damari was an expensive purchase for Leipzig, fetching a reported 7 million euros. He also had six goals in a span of four games for Israel in 2014, before suffering a tear in the abductor muscle in early 2015.
After going scoreless in 11 2. Bundesliga games in 2015-16, he was loaned to Red Bull Salzburg to rediscover his form. He scored four goals and assisting four more in 16 Austrian league tilts, and thanks to a deadline-day deal, the Red Bulls are hoping some corporate synergy can deliver them some added scoring punch.
After dismal failures in their first two CONCACAF Champions League appearances, the Red Bulls are hoping the third time’s the charm. And they got this one off to a solid start, a young, backup-heavy team grinding out a Group F win over 10-man Antigua GFC.
“Overall, some good performances from our young guys,” coach Jesse Marsch said. “Another proud moment for our club to call on our Homegrown Players and some of our young guys and have them step up in a very meaningful game, very meaningful game. And I’ll say this, against a good team.”
Minus half their starting lineup, the testy, foul-filled game was more hard work than work of art, leaving CB Aurelien Collin with stitches above and below his blackened left eye, and rookie Alex Muyl with a chipped tooth. But considering how horribly their other Champions Leagues went – just one win in six previous matches – they will take any victory they can get.
The Red Bulls – who hit the woodwork three times – got this one thanks to a 16th-minute own goal, tallies from Muyl and Sacha Kljestan, and a clean sheet from backup goalkeeper Ryan Meara. They fielded five homegrown players for the first time in their history, and their youngsters got tested in a feisty, physical international tilt.
And measured up to the task.
“A lot of us are walking out with some busted lips, black eyes and stuff; and it showed that it was a fight the entire game, and we were up to the challenge and it was a really positive performance for us,’’ said Muyl, who took the shot that deflected in off of defender Jose Pinto for opener.
Then, after the Red Bulls went up a man in the 27th minute thanks to Sixto Betancourt’s red-card foul on Felipe, Muyl doubled the lead. He controlled a low cross from left back Kemar Lawrence – making his return from a long injury layoff – cut back in the box to get past the keeper and scored in the 62nd minute.
“It’s really exciting, the fact that it’s an international competition is really cool. It’s the first for me and the first for a lot of the young guys. It’s a really good experience,’’ said Muyl, 20, who started alongside homegrowns Tyler Adams, 17, and Sean Davis.
When Connor Lade and Derrick Etienne Jr., 19, came off the bench it put five homegrowns on the field for the first time in team history.
The Red Bulls failed to even get out of the CONCACAF Champions League group stage in both 2009 and 2014. With this match sandwiched by MLS tilts at Chicago last Sunday and at Los Angeles next Sunday, they played without injured captain Dax McCarty and sat six starters.
Kljestan, one of those starters, came off the bench for a cameo in the 78th minute, and seconds later finished a nice give-and-go and lay-off from Gonzalo Veron to finish off the Guatemalan champs.
“We played it perfectly,’’ said Meara, who stoned Agustin Herrera on a first-half breakaway. “Sometimes when you’re playing up a man you can get overconfident. But one of our big things at halftime was to make sure we just kept doing the right things, the same things we did throughout the first half that got us the 1-0 lead.’’
The Red Bulls’ next Champions League tilt is Aug. 16 at Alianza.