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The New York Red Bulls opened up their 2015 home campaign against their most hated rival, D.C. United. Coming into the day, the Red Bulls were tied with the LA Galaxy for the best home record in the last 3 years, and they continued that against D.C. Bradley Wright-Phillips opened up the scoring in the 25th minute after controlling an over the top ball from Dax McCarty, juggling it and slotting it past Bill Hamid. The move was symptomatic of how the Red Bulls played all game long, just dominating the match. The Red Bulls controlled 55.9% of the possession, had more shots and more on target. It was a complete victory for the Red Bulls, an impressive start for their 2015 season.
Lloyd Sam added to the tally in the second half, blasting one near side past Hamid in the 71st minute after Wright-Phillips (1 goal, 1 assist on the day) laid the ball off for him. There was a moment of panic late on as D.C. earned what looked like a dubious Penalty Kick with Davy Arnaud going down on, drawing a foul against Matt Miazga. The soccer gods must've been shining down on the Red Bulls though as Chris Pontious drove the ensuring PK way over the bar, and ended the game at 2-0.
3 Thoughts
1. The Ghost of Thierry Henry
So Bradley Wright-Phillips can't score without Thierry Henry on the field? This is a thing right? Well, he's going to prove EVERYONE wrong this year, and he got it started with his goal to open up scoring today. Where was Henry's ghost? No where to be seen. BWP 1, Henry's Ghost 0.
2. Lloyd Sam
Dude played out of his mind today. Inside the box, outside the box, putting a ball past Bill Hamid. Him & Dane Richards running down the field on a counter attack together though, it's things that Red Bull fans dream of, and we're hoping to see more of it this year.
3. Sell Out Defense
While Petke might be gone, his hard nose defensive attitude isn't. The defense went all out in doing it job, with Dax at one point holding his knee after going down to block a shot. This is the makings of a good thing if the Red Bulls can keep it going.