Tai Baribo and Silvan Hefti Score as 10-Man D.C. United Hold Off Red Bull New York 2-1

Possession is nine-tenths of the law, they say. Nobody told D.C. United. On Wednesday night at Audi Field, the Black-and-Red had the ball for roughly a quarter of the match, played the last 22 minutes of regulation a man down, and still walked off with three points.

D.C. United beat Red Bull New York 2-1, getting a fifth-minute penalty from Tai Baribo and a stoppage-time header from Silvan Hefti before halftime, then surviving Lucas Bartlett's second yellow card and a furious Red Bulls push after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting cut the lead in half.

A Fast Start and a Perfectly Timed Second

D.C. came out like they had something to prove after a 4-0 loss at Inter Miami CF on Saturday. Brandon Servania nearly scored in the third minute when he met Kimito Nono's cross at the left side of the six-yard box and pushed it just wide. Moments later, Adri Mehmeti fouled Baribo in the box, and Baribo rolled the penalty into the bottom right corner in the fifth minute. D.C. said it was his 15th goal of the season.

Then the Red Bulls took over the ball and pretty much never gave it back. Justin Che fired just wide in the 15th minute, Sean Johnson saved from Cade Cowell in the 24th, and Julián Bazán headed wide in the 26th. Julian Hall had a trio of chances, including a left-footed shot from the six-yard box in the 36th minute that went wide and a 43rd-minute effort that Johnson stopped.

D.C. spent most of the half without the ball, but the closing stretch flipped the night. Oscar Avilez, a 16-year-old Academy product making his MLS debut in his first start, according to the club, forced Ethan Horvath into a save in the second minute of first-half stoppage time. Two minutes later, Keisuke Kurokawa swung in a corner, Baribo headed it across the face of goal, and Hefti nodded it in from the left side of the six-yard box. It was 2-0 at the break, and it was cruel on the visitors.

Ten Men and a Lot of Corners

Head coach Michael Bradley made four changes at once for the Red Bulls in the 57th minute, sending on Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Choupo-Moting, Emil Forsberg and Cameron Harper. Johnson had already stopped Sofo in the 51st minute, and he kept them out a little longer by saving from Forsberg in the 64th. Then, in the 68th, Bartlett picked up his second yellow card and was sent off.

New York needed three minutes to make it count. Forsberg slipped a through ball to Choupo-Moting, who finished from the left side of the six-yard box. The Red Bulls said it was his fifth goal of the season and that he had now scored in back-to-back matches.

What followed was a siege. Mohammed Sofo missed twice from inside the box, Bazán and Devin Padelford both headed wide off corners, and Harper hit the left post from the right side of the six-yard box in the 86th minute after another Forsberg through ball. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Bazán got one last header on target from Padelford's cross, and Johnson smothered it.

The Guys Who Held the Line

Tai Baribo scored the penalty, drew the foul and headed the assist for the second goal, which D.C. said was his first MLS assist of the season. He also needed treatment twice in the first half and kept going.

Silvan Hefti scored the winner with his second goal of the season, per D.C., and the club credited him with 14 defensive contributions on a night his side had to defend for most of the match.

Sean Johnson made five saves, including the stop on Bazán in the final seconds.

Oscar Avilez had a debut to remember. D.C. said he had eight touches in the opposition box in his 56 minutes, more than anyone else in the match. The club also noted that the Honduran-born teenager debuted on its Noche Latina night, a celebration of D.C. United's Latino community.

Emil Forsberg was the best player on the field after coming on. He set up Choupo-Moting's goal, put a shot on target and delivered cross after cross from set pieces. The Red Bulls said it was his eighth assist of the season.

The Turning Point

Hefti's header in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time decided this. Without it, Bartlett's red card would have left D.C. clinging to a 1-0 lead against a team holding three quarters of the ball. With it, D.C. had a two-goal cushion, and when Choupo-Moting scored, there was still a goal of breathing room. That second goal, on the last corner of the half, was the difference between three points and a long night of regret.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Red Bull New York 74.7 percent, D.C. United 25.3.
• Shots: New York 24, D.C. four.
• Shots on target: New York 6, D.C. 3.
• Passes: New York attempted 611 passes to D.C.'s 199.
• Corners: New York 11, D.C. three.

What It Means

D.C. United moved to 7-12-9 with 33 points, snapping a four-match winless run that dated to a 2-1 home win over the Columbus Crew on Sept. 9. The club said it is now 5-5-5 at Audi Field this season, and it still has a match in hand, with a rescheduled trip to FC Cincinnati set for Oct. 21. Before that, D.C. visits Orlando City SC on Saturday.

Red Bull New York fell to 10-6-13 with 36 points, coming off a 4-1 home win over San Diego FC on Saturday. The two sides drew 4-4 in their April meeting, so this one was a far less entertaining sequel, at least for New York. The Red Bulls host Toronto FC on Saturday.

The Closing Take

This was the soccer version of a Tetris endgame. For 22 minutes, blocks rained down from every direction, D.C. were missing a piece, and somehow they kept clearing lines until the final whistle. It was not pretty, but it was a win, and in a season like this one, the Black-and-Red will gladly take it.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details as reported by D.C. United and Red Bull New York.