Red Bulls Defeated Rapids 3-1 in Terrific Fashion at Red Bull Arena Saturday

The New York Red Bulls defeated the Colorado Rapids 3-1 at Red Bulls Arena on Saturday afternoon. On the walk to the game my Wife and I met the Big Viper and Who Shot Sam from the The Viper’s Nest. I also stopped by to say hello as they recorded their halftime comments and met You Suck Corrales. They are great guys, huge Red Bull fans and incredibly loyal supporters who really enjoy themselves before, during and after the matches. A moment of silence was held before the National Anthem on Saturday to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Members of the armed services held a large American Flag in the center of the field. As the game began the Red Bulls controlled the ball from the opening kickoff. Except for the first 10 or so minutes that begin the 2nd half it was all Red Bulls. In the 17th minute Thierry Henry took a long ball from Rafa Marquez along the left side, kicked it back to Joel Lindpere who passed it off his back heel to Henry who then finessed it into the net. It was Henry’s 2nd MLS goal and it was a superb give and go. The Red Bulls kept up the pressure and in the 32nd minute rookie defender Tim Ream scored his first goal of his MLS career to give the Red Bulls the 2-0 lead. Marquez took a free kick from the left side just past midfield to Tony Tchani who was just to the right of the goal. Tchani volleyed the ball left across the mouth of the goal to a charging Tim Ream who then volleyed it into the net. The Rapids came out strong the 2nd half and played much better until the 55th minute. Rapids Mehdi Ballouchy shot past a diving Bouna Coundoul (Bouna Time) and thankfully hit the far left post. The Rapids made it a 1 goal game as Omar Cummings blasted a rocket from outside the box that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced in. The Red Bulls made it a 3-1 game on a goal by Dane Richards in the 58th minute. Juan Pablo Angel passed the ball to Richards along the right wing. Richards came in with speed, stopped, held the ball, made a nice move and lobbed the ball into the left corner of the net. Rafa Marquez, who I call The Man in the Middle hobbled off the field on the opposite side of the bench with an apparent ankle injury. He reinjured the same ankle that was hurt in an international match he played for Mexico recently. Two things that I liked were that the Red Bulls were only called offside twice and they moved the ball very well. There were no dump and chase type balls sent into Colorado’s end, all passes were on the ground. All New York players wore black armbands in remembrance of Carl Robinson’s father who passed away recently. The Red Bulls are solidly in 2nd place just 4 points behind the Columbus Crew with their next match on the road against FC Dallas this Thursday.