New York Red Bulls captain Thierry Henry scored his 50th MLS regular season goal in last Saturday’s game at the Philadelphia Union’s PPL Park in Chester (PA), but that was the good news; the not so good news is that the Red Bulls surrendered a 2-0 first half lead by allowing two goals to give the Union a point in the resultant 2-2 draw.
Henry’s milestone goal came in the 40th minute when he one-timed a Chris Duval cross to give the Red Bulls a 2-0 lead; Peguy Luyindula had given the visitors a 1-0 lead four minutes earlier from the penalty spot after he had been fouled in the goal area by Philadelphia’s Ethan White. Henry surely would have wanted to remember his milestone goal as a game-winner, and it seemed that way, but not for long. At the 41st minute, Pedro Ribeiro scored to cut the deficit to 2-1 and started the Union rally, which was completed in second half stoppage time when former Red Bull Sebastien Le Toux scored the equalizer from the penalty spot.
The Red Bulls next play at home on Saturday, Sept. 20 versus the Western Conference leader Seattle Sounders, led by the high scoring tandem of internationals, American Clint Dempsey and Nigerian Obafemi Martins.
MLS
In more MLS action last Saturday, host FC Dallas, led by Panamanian striker Blas Perez’s two goals, defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps, 2-1, at Toyota Stadium just outside Dallas. Perez scored after 20 minutes of play; Erik Hurtado equalized in the 67th minute, but Perez tallied the winner near the end. The Chicago Fire and Toronto FC played to a 1-1 draw; MLS veteran Dwayne De Rosario scored his first goal of the season for Toronto after Jamaican international Lovell Palmer had given the Fire the lead in the 11th minute.
Host Houston Dynamo and the Columbus Crew played to a 2-2 draw at BBVA Compass Stadium. Houston was ahead, 2-0, into the second half through an own goal and a tally from Giles Barnes, but the Crew launched a strong rally when Will Trapp and Ethan Finlay scored to share the points. Yet another 2-2 draw ensued between host Colorado Rapids and the Portland Timbers. Diego Valeri gave the visiting Timbers a 1-0 halftime lead, but Dillon Powers equalized for Colorado and teammate Deshorn Brown gave the Rapids a 2-1 lead; Gaston Fernández got the equalizer for Portland, which is in the fifth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The New England Revolution beat the Montreal Impact, 2-1, behind goals from Kelyn Rowe and Lee Nguyen; Calum Mallace scored for Montreal. Visiting Sporting Kansas City thrashed Chivas USA, 4-0, at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles. Dom Dwyer, Benny Feilhaber, Graham Zusi and Claudio Bieler tallied for the winners.
The host Seattle Sounders maintained a firm hold on first place in the Western Conference with a 3-2 win over rival Real Salt Lake at Century Link Field last Friday night. Substitute Andy Rose broke a 2-2 tie to give the Sounders the final advantage and three points to stay ahead of the pack. Javier Morales gave RSL a 1-0 in the first half, but by the middle of the second, goals by Lamar Neagle and Obafemi Martins put the Sounders ahead, 2-1; Joao Plata evened the score for the visitors, which set the stage for Rose’s winner in the late stages of the game.
