After tying the regular-season scoring record, Bradley Wright-Phillips hasn’t lost a step in the playoffs.
BWP scored both goals in New York’s 2-1 win over Sporting KC in the knockout round and tallied again today as the Red Bulls earned a huge home win over D.C. United. Peguy Luyindula also scored for New York as Thierry Henry set up both of the team’s goals.
The two teams will meet again November 8th at RFK Stadium, which can be seen live at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
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In big games you want your biggest stars to shine, and for the Red Bulls, Thierry Henry stepped up to the occasion.
Henry controlled the tempo of the match while constantly spreading the ball around the pitch to his teammates. While his leadership has been key to the Red Bulls’ success, the Frenchman showed he still has the skills to go with it.
For the Red Bulls first goal, Henry controlled the ball in the box before flicking a deft back-heel pass to a streaking Bradley Wright-Phillips, who coolly finished as he has all season long. Check out Henry’s pure class, via MLSSoccer.com:
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Despite having more possession than the Red Bulls, D.C. United failed to produce many quality scoring chances and can thank their goalkeeper Bill Hamid for keeping the game as close as it ended.
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In the 73rd minute it was Henry again as he found Peguy Luyindula with a long ball as his fellow Frenchman slotted it home to put New York up 2-0. Henry collected the ball at midfield and played a ball about 40 yards right to the feet of Luyindula, who snuck behind the United defense with a well-timed run.
It was all Red Bulls today as D.C. United face an uphill battle as they’ll need a big win at home to advance to the next round of the MLS Playoffs.
LINEUPS:
New York: Robles, Eckersley, Olave, Miller, Sekagya, Luyindula (Cahill 75'), Sam, McCarty, Henry (Oyongo Bitolo 81'), Wright-Phillips
Goals: Wright-Phillips (40'), Luyindula (73')
D.C.: Hamid, Birnbaum, Korb, Boswell, Kemp (Franklin 70'), Arnaud, Pontius (Rolfe 74'), DeLeon, Kitchen, Johnson, Espindola