Red Bulls top Crew, reach East finals

The Red Bulls may have delivered a subpar performance in Columbus a week ago, but they more than made up for that Sunday.

They advanced to the Eastern Conference final, powering past Columbus Crew SC 3-0 to win their semifinals series 3-1 on aggregate. Daniel Royer led the way for the Red Bulls in the second leg in Harrison, bagging a brace, the two goals three minutes apart in the second half. He also set up teammate Alex Muyl’s first-half tally.

The victory in front of the announced crowd of 22,789 means the Red Bulls will meet Atlanta United in the next round of the playoffs. As the Supporters’ Shield holders, the Red Bulls will travel for the first leg of the final at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Nov. 25 before returning to Red Bull Arena four days later.

Down 1-0 against Crew SC after turning in a disappointing showing in last weekend’s road loss, the Red Bulls pulled even in the series after just 17 minutes Sunday. Sean Davis delivered a set piece into the penalty area from about 40 yards out that Royer met at the back post. He headed a pass to trailing Aaron Long. Onrushing and unmarked, Long fired the ball toward the net, but it ricocheted off Muyl before looping over Crew goalkeeper Zack Steffen.

Columbus responded by creating a couple of opportunities late in the opening stanza, including a curled effort by Justin Meram, but was unable to cause too much trouble for Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles.