The New York Red Bulls badly needed Thierry Henry the goal scorer to show up, but they also received a welcome boost from Henry the leader, as the French captain pushed, pleaded and propelled the short-handed Red Bulls to victory on a night when another late collapse seemed possible.
Henry did his part offensively, driving in a dangerous cross that turned into an own goal and pulling off one of his trademark moves to score a goal of his own. New England fought back to make it a game, but the Red Bulls were able to avoid late-game mistakes to post a 2-1 victory that snapped a six-match winless streak.
New England nearly opened the scoring in the 34th minute when Shalrie Joseph stepped up to take a penalty earned when Stephen Keel fouled Rajko Lekic in the penalty area. The normally reliable Joseph saw his penalty stopped by Red Bulls goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who dove to his left to stop the penalty and keep the match scoreless.
Henry responded just three minutes later by driving down the right flank and powering in a hard and low cross that Ryan Cochrane struck into his own net.
Henry victimized Cochrane again in the second half, turning the veteran Revs defender before unleashing a blast past Matt Reis to make the score 2-0 in the 50th minute. Zak Boggs answered with his own goal just four minutes later, but the Revs never could find the equalizer.
New England appeared to score an equalizer in the 84th minute when Lekic headed home a long cross, only to be ruled offside (he was offside by several feet). The Red Bulls went from thinking they had blown a late lead for the second straight week to realizing they still had the lead, which they never gave up.
The victory moves the Red Bulls (5-2-7) into first place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Union, which has two games in hand and faces Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The loss keeps New England sliding, marking the team's fourth straight loss. The Revs dropped to 3-7-4, though a change to a 4-4-2 in the second half gave Steve Nicol some positives to look to going forward. New England's offense was ineffective playing in a 4-5-1 in the first half, but when Kenny Mansally came into the match to partner with Lekic, New England began finding more chances.
The Red Bulls' victory was a vital one heading into a brutal road trip that will include visits to Portland and Seattle four days apart. Playing without four starters and super sub Juan Agudelo, all away at the Gold Cup, the Red Bulls suddenly find themselves riding a five-match unbeaten streak, though four of those matches were draws.
What did you think of the performance? Who impressed you besides Henry? Think the Revs are doomed to another season without the playoffs?
Share your thoughts below.
Aww I meant to say Friday night
Corey’s game was passable saturday night but could’ve been better.
Missing Henry’s cross to the back post at the end of the game by giving up on his run was pretty weak. That play was a gem and credit to Corey, he initiated that play. He should’ve completed it by going hard to the back post. He might have had a shot on goal but at least he would have put himself in position. Its a classic play. I chalk it up to rookie nerves and learning curve but I expect better from a player of his caliber.
???What were you watching???
Hertzog definitely has heart and hustle and was in a few goal-scoring opportunities when he came in – exactly what you want out of a sub. He’s a rookie, christ! He knows a thing or two about skill/hustle – he was the leading scorer in the NCAA’s last year!
You are the first instance I’ve heard of criticism of Corey’s play…
Hetzog – you stood out in a very poor way. Not looking at skills, positioning or stopping runs – look at heart and hustle. Henry a guy 10 yrs your senior who outhustles you even though he has been playing for 65 minutes by the time you come on. Henry in the last 1.5 months is for real. He hustles like he is trying to impress the coach to get more minutes.
Cory hope that was nerves that you can put behind you and that you read this and get a wake up call. Good luck.
Besides that enjoyable game although lots of mistakes. Great that Red Bull snapped a slide. Thankful SHarlie Josef did not have one of his typical metro killer games.
Henry is amazing and his skills only highlighted the offensive ineptitude around him in that game and the rest of the league. MLS is averaging 1.3 goals per team per game; there have been 13 scoreless draws and 25 1-1 ties. The league has to make a priority of improving the quality of attacking play, bringing in higher caliber strikers and encouraging teams to adopt a more offensive mindset.
Money, of course, is the biggest barrier to importing better strikers and attacking midfielders. But maybe once the new stadium-building phase is over, they can focus more in investing in players rather than infrastructure. The new venues should also help to attract higher quality players from abroad.
But emphasizing an attacking style of play makes sense in any case for a young league looking to grab fans’s attention–that’s the approach the ABA and AFC took in their early years–offering a more exciting alternative to the NBA and NFL before being merged into the established leagues. MLS should go the same route.
do the Revs look like a team that is in the process of being shopped about? they are bottom of the barrel competition. i wonder if Kraft has had it, or if he is just not doing anything positive because his prized throw-ball team is in flux right now. and that “crest”…just shambolic. an absolute disgrace.
I was there last night, and on reflection it was a fun game. At the time, it was frustrating to watch the constant useless crosses into the box (esp. from Solli). RB could have been running away with that game if the midfield was under better control (we do miss DeRo) and the flank play was Dane darting into the box. Henry showed his class and really needed to tear into his teammates. Rodgers missed so many chances that I did not mind him being subbed out for Hertzog. For missing 5 key players, the win was a relief and a good way to start off a 4 game road trip.
much respect to Henry
from a Dynamo and Arsenal fan
I think he meant world play not just MLS…
I completely agree with you. The inexperience surrounding Henry at the moment is something he hasn’t seen and really seems to be stepping up as a leader. Just as he displayed on the field it was equally evident during a post-game interview. He had a great quote about putting your foot forward and hopefully talent will follow.
That said, I’m hoping the quote was directed at Hertzog as his lack of run completion very well might’ve cost them a goal after a beautiful Henry cross (a cross he called for.) By far his best play was a dummy at the top of the 18. Hopefully he looks less lost next time he steps on the pitch.
Early in the season you _might_ have accused Henry of coasting, but it’s ridiculous to accuse him of that now.
I am not used to seeing star players yell at teammates in the US…well Ewing and Oakley yelling at Starks for that headbutt way back when…
Henry has been doing it, but I interpret it as leadership…
When Keel committed the penalty and you could see he is thinking about the fact he only has 4-5 games to impress before he might get moved/”cut” by next year, there is this 3 sec clip of him looking at Henry approach him, and he has the look like I have of when I am going to hear it from my boss, and then…..Henry just pats him on the head…
It looks like he is being demanding, but he is managing that level of demandingness(new word)…He looks like he is managing the team from on the field…
lol I am not putting a Jordan reference….but I just did lol
I am merely stating an opinion here, and would love feedback…and when i say opinion, it is more close to “a feeling”…
This team is going to be good, real good, Rodgers is the man, and the only question I have is DeRo, not sure how he is fitting in…
Henry is everything you want in a DP. Big name, goals, playmaking, heart, sweat, leadership, loves the city he is in. Actually, this is what you’d want in any player in any league at any level. If MLS could find 5 more of these guys…
My mistake. I was told Leko was Croation. Still stupid to boo, though.
Jamaica is already qualified for the quarters, so no Richards until–at the earliest–the Seattle game on the 23rd.
Hey 5 missing starters is nothing, they couldn’t even beat RSL at home when they were resting almost all their starters for CCL!
Ballouchy is so annoying. He kills so many attacks. He slows down play and makes bad decisions time and again.
Regarding the Croation tifo, I sit at the end of the stadium just below where they sat. The Revs supporters actually booed them and started chanting USA at them when they unfurled their flag. I found that bizarre.
First, flags from other countries are always on display at MLS matches. There is nothing wrong with that. Second, they added energy and atmosphere to the match. Lastly, they were there to cheer on a Revs player. Duh.
One final point, the level of play for pretty much every MLS match I’ve seen in the last week has really been poor. Playing during the Gold Cup is a terrible advertisement for the league and shows how little depth the teams have.
No, Psycho… Henry is the best player to touch a ball in the MLS.. if you want to talk top 10, then he is comfortably in the number one spot… no one has his skill and vision. no argument.
um, the guys is not exactly coasting, he looked like he could barely stand up after the game, and aside from the first few games has been running his nads off.
But his quality was really on display last night. Too bad his teammates can’t finish
Ballouchy OUT!
So true.
It makes me sad that a bag-o-bones like Henry can coast through his retirement years and boss our league at the same time.
As one that follows the Revs, the outcome was never in doubt. This team is a sham and Kraft should be fined by the league for refusing to field a competitive team. The Red Bulls are missing 5 starters and yet NE can’t manage a win or tie? Just terrible
lol, i think Dane Richards is the 5th fastest guy on that team lol. They have speed for days, did you see that Luton Shelton Guy making the run down the middle ? OMG. The Guate Goalie made a brilliant/lucky save.
Henry is a class above.
I’m a Red Bull fan who was at the game tonight and we were seriously concerned every time Tierney touched the ball. That guy can cross.
He is a top ten player of all-time easy…Rodgers does most of the running now anyway. Perfect combo with Agudelo as the livliest 3rd guy in the league. Once Juan Ag gets clicking, watch out. Only RSL and SKC can match for forward depth and both units are not in form.
A Baby Rooney sighting!!! Didn’t do much though
No chance with the Reggae Boyz…they are for real
he had some but he also made some awful runs off the ball. two i remember immediately: 1. on a counter he passed the ball to henry and instead of running into space ahead of him he ran towards the flank where ballouchy already was. 2. he made a run towards the far post. henry crosses it towards the post and hertzog immediately stops his run. couldve been a goal. henry was furious! his positioning in general was poor.
can’t be too harsh. i understand that it was the most time he’s had all season.
After last night’s snoozer, this game was so much more fun to watch. Tierney’s crosses were excellent. Domi played well also. Dabo looked good until he went out. Where is Coria for NE? He looked good earlier in the season. Like NY, NE has good depth. Add in Guy, Benny, and 1 more striker and this a contender.
Hertzog had 2 great chances, but Mansally missed a couple also. This could have been a 7 goal game.
Henry is the best dam player in the league easy, how does he do it on those fickle knees of his ????
just got back from the game. ballouchy makes me want to punch a baby. he wasted so many chances. loadest boos all game was after he whiffed on the open net goal. hertzog as well. henry was giving him an earful all game. he seemed like he didnt know where to be up top.
atmosphere was fantastic! the croatian tifo was a nice plus.
I hope Canada & Jamaica get elimated from the Gold Cup quickly so we can at least get DeRo & Dane Richards back.
Henry was amazing! He now leads the league in goals (not counting PKS)! He looked really annoyed with his team, though. Must be tough playing with so many rookies and backups. Also, what a wild match! Back to back action, and TONS of missed shots on both sides. Wow.