HARRISON, NJ (October 26, 2014) – On Sunday night, in front of a less than raucous Sporting Park crowd, the New York Red Bulls finished their 2014 campaign with a 2-nil victory against a Sporting KC team that has been on the downturn since August. Bradley Wright-Phillips tied the MLS record for goals scored in a single season with two goals to end his first full MLS season with 27. He now goes into the history books, sharing the record with Roy Lassiter and Chris Wondolowski. The record of 27 goals has stood since 1996, the league’s inaugural season, when Lassiter scored 27 for the Tampa Bay Mutiny.
The Red Bulls bounced back from a less than auspicious home finale last week, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Columbus Crew. That match featured a back four that seemed to be playing together for the first time. There was no such thing as tracking runners in that match, as Columbus was repetedly able to have their way in the attacking third.
Tonight, was a much different story.
Manager Mike Petke put a fine point on it. “We played like a team tonight.”
Despite missing captain Thierry Henry, who did not make the trip to Sporting Park due to inflammation in both Achilles tendons, the Red Bulls seemed much more comfortable in their own skin. Jamison Olave and Ibrahim Sekagaya seemed to have an easier time tracking runners, and seemed more engaged in this match than they were last week. With Wright-Phillips and Tim Cahill up top, they seemed to get into a productive rhythm early, with Wright-Phillips opening the scoring. Manager Mike Petke had this to say about Wright-Phillips, “I’ve said it all along, I’m more proud of Bradley for what he does this team… the goal scoring record is just a little icing on the cake for him.”
Wright-Phillips continued to be his humble self, speaking more about the team, and the big picture goals that this club has. Dax McCarty echoed that sentiment, “We were coming off a really bad performance at home against Columbus. (Tonight) we were really organized on defense and extremely dangerous on the counter.”
The talk now turns towards Bradley Wright-Phillips as regular season MVP. This season’s class of MVP candidates is as strong as any in recent years, with no real clear favorite. If it were up to McCarty and Petke, Wright-Phillips ould be a shoe in, regardless of the accomplishments of Obafemi Martins, Robbie Keane, and Lee Nyguen.
The Red Bulls have fought and clawed their way into a playoff spot, and with tonight’s victory they earned themselves the right to test their mettle against this very same SKC club in front of their home fans at Red Bull Arena on Thursday night. It isn’t much, but they can exhale a bit, but not too much, as New York will potentially face three matches in seven days, provided that they earn a victory on Thursday. The last time Kansas City came to Red Bull Arena, Petke’s club played one of their best games of the season, beating a dangerous SKC side 2-1. Petke has hope going into this match, stating simply, “If we are organized and disciplined, we can do some damage. We know we are going home.”
photo credit: Bill Twomey Photography @BillTNJ
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