Two goals in the first six minutes proved to be all of the scoring at BMO Field on Saturday night as the New York Red Bulls drew 1-1 with MLS cellar-dwelling Toronto FC. Jan Gunnar Solli put New York ahead in just the fourth minute before Danny Koevermans equalized for the hosts, and neither side was able to finish the chances they created in the remaining eighty-four minutes.

The Red Bulls looked flat and sloppy in possession for most of the first half; Kenny Cooper and the returning Thierry Henry didn't impose themselves upon the game as they have so many times in the first half of this season. Toronto played fairly well, carved out several good chances, and may have been unlucky to score only once, when Koevermans took advantage of some (more) terrible defending by New York off a set piece.

New York looked better after the break, but both Henry and Cooper missed fairly good opportunities to re-take the lead. For the Red Bulls, it was a disappointing follow-up to the brilliant performance against DC United, although a draw away to this Toronto side may not be as bad as it looks right now. The hosts have rebounded from their awful start to 2012 and look a halfway decent team -- although nowhere near good enough to rebound and make the playoffs.

The most obvious concern for Hans Backe will be that his team may slip into a mid-season slump, as they did last year, and the upcoming fixtures don't look great for the Red Bulls: away to New England is usually a tough game for New York, and that is followed by three games in seven days against Seattle, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The Red Bulls will have to get back to the fluent passing that they have demonstrated they can use to control games in the first half of this season in order to keep the Eastern Conference title race alive.

Happy matchday, Red Bulls fans! Our glorious superteam is up in the frozen tundra of Toronto to take on lowly TFC tonight, and a victory will take us top of the Eastern Conference.

Thierry Henry returns to the starting lineup as New York reverts to 4-4-2. Connor Lade is also back in the starting XI, replacing Roy Miller at left back.

Red Bulls (4-4-2): Ryan Meara; Brandon Barklage, Wilman Conde, Heath Pearce, Connor Lade; Dane Richards, Dax McCarty, Joel Lindpere, Jan Gunnar Solli; Kenny Cooper, Thierry Henry

Bench: Jeremy Vuolo, Roy Miller, Jonathan Borrajo, Stephen Keel, Victor Palsson, Jhonny Arteaga, Tyler Ruthven

Toronto (4-4-2): Kocic; Hall, Eckersley, Emory, Morgan; Lambe, Frings, Dunfield, Avila; Koevermans, Johnson

Bench: Roberts; Aceval, Maund, Stinson, Silva, de Guzman, Soolsma

Let us rock and roll.

So Erik Soler and Hans Backe, who always seem to want to make a splash, will have a month to do so starting today.

Possibly because how well the team is playing, there isn't a ton in the way of rumors, unless you believe that the Bulls are going to ink literally ever aging European star looking to cash one final paycheck, but the most high-profile one so far has been the rumor that Kaka has "a dream to live in the U.S. and play in MLS."

In more tangible efforts, the team is looking to sign Luke Rodgers again, though news on the status of his visa appeal is few and far between. This is probably a good thing for Rodgers, but is rather maddening for us.

If there's anything heartening to come out of that discussion, though, is that the Red Bulls extended Cory Hertzog's loan to the USL-Pro Wilmington Hammerheads.

From the New York Post's indispensable Brian Lewis...

"Corey and the club discussed the possibility of extending his loan to the end of the year and we both agreed that it was in his best interest to stay with Wilmington to play more competitive matches," said Red Bulls GM and Sporting Director Erik Soler. "We wish him luck in Wilmington and we look forward to having him back once their season is over."

If the team really was having a tough time filling in gaps up top, I have a hard time believing they wouldn't welcome Hertzog back, especially with the luck the team has been having with "bench" players this year. So maybe Soler and Backe know something we don't, though, that's the case most of the time isn't it?

Two first-half goals from Brandon Barklage and a second-half strike from Jan Gunnar Solli moved the New York Red Bulls level with DC United on points atop the Eastern Conference after a 3-2 win over The Great Satan.

The Red Bulls were clearly the better side for the first hour of the match, and probably could have been ahead by more than just a single goal at halftime considering the number of chances they created. The midfield kept the ball well and won it back quickly, denying DC time to build attacks or time with possession. New York's wide play was also very impressive, and although Kenny Cooper wasn't his clinical self in front of goal, his interplay with Mehdi Ballouchy and the rest of the midfield was excellent. Ballouchy and Dax McCarty deserve particular praise for commanding the center of the park and building New York's attacks.

The Red Bulls defense was quite good in spite of conceding twice; the first goal was a bit of a fluke as New York were caught cold in the opening minute, and the second was very narrowly offside. Brandon Barklage was the surprise man of the match, but Heath Pearce and the returning Rafael Márquez were also both very impressive in the defense.

DC still hold a two-goal edge on goal difference, but we have a game in hand on the Devil. The next game for New York is a visit to cellar-dwelling Toronto FC next Saturday night.

Enough with all these build-up matches, it's time for the main event! The New York Red Bulls take on DC United at RBA tonight as they look to re-take first place in the Eastern Conference from The Great Satan.

TEAM NEWS IS MASSIVE: Thierry Henry does not start, and New York stay with a 4-5-1/4-4-1-1. Henry is on the bench, with Márquez replacing the injured Markus Holgersson in central defense.

Lineups

Red Bulls (4-5-1/4-4-1-1): Ryan Meara; Brandon Barklage, Rafael Marquez, Heath Pearce, Roy Miller; Jan Gunnar Solli, Dax McCarty, Connor Lade, Joel Lindpere, Mehdi Ballouchy; Kenny Cooper

Bench: Jeremy Vuolo, Stephen Keel, Wilman Conde, Jonathan Borrajo, Victor Palsson, Jhonny Arteaga, Thierry Henry

DC: Hamid; Russell, McDonald, Jakovic, Woolard; Cruz, Kitchen, De Rosario, DeLeon; Pontius, Salihi

Bench: Santos, Boskovic, Najar, Neal, Saragosa, Dudar, Willis

Let's win.

Today is the biggest game of the New York Red Bulls' season so far as the Great Satan, DC United, visit Red Bull Arena for a clash of first against third in the Eastern Conference. A win for New York (by two goals) would avenge the loss that definitely didn't happen back in April and vault the Red Bulls into first place in the East.

This feels like a must-win game -- at a time of year when there are no must-win games. But New York's spring momentum has ground to a halt, and two points from nine have seen the Red Bulls slip a bit in the Eastern Conference table. Not only is this a derby, but a potential pivot point (how's that for alliteration?) for the remainder of the season. A win sets the Red Bulls back on track, while a loss....let's not talk about that possibility.

DC have been in very good form of late, with four wins on the bounce coming into Sunday's match, although only the most recent victory was away from home. They've been flat-track bullies to a large extent this year; Houston and the Red Bulls have been the only top-half teams they've beaten, and four of their nine victories have been against the bottom three teams in the league (Dallas, Philadelphia, and Toronto).

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The international break is over! MLS is back! And so are our Red Bulls, who head out to Chicago to re-start their season against the Fire.

There's no Thierry Henry for New York, who have set up in...some kind of formation that is not very clear from the team sheet. I think (!) it's a 4-5-1 or a 4-1-4-1 with Kenny Cooper alone up top and Heath Pearce in defensive midfield. But we don't know. Connor Lade doesn't start for reasons beyond my understanding.

Lineups

Red Bulls (4-4-2? 4-1-4-1? 4-5-1?): Ryan Meara; Brandon Barklage, Markus Holgersson, Wilman Conde, Roy Miller; Heath Pearce, Jan Gunnar Solli, Dax McCarty, Joel Lindpere, Dane Richards; Kenny Cooper

Bench: Jeremy Vuolo, Stephen Keel, Jonathan Borrajo, Victor Palsson, Mehdi Ballouchy, Jhonny Arteaga, Connor Lade

Fire: Johnson; Gargan, Anibaba, Berry, Segares; Pause, Pardo; Nyarko, Grazzini, Pappa; Odur

Bench: Tornaghi, Jumper, Paladini, Robayo, Puppo, Barouch, Rolfe

A win will pull us to within a point of DC at the top of the East, still with two games in hand. So let's do that.

After an almost three week hiatus from league play, the New York Red Bulls are set to take on the Chicago Fire this Sunday at Toyota Park. So to mark the occasion, we traded three questions with Chicago Fire blog Hot Time in Old Town. Special thanks to Ryan Sealock for giving us some insight on the Fire's recent form, early exit from the Open Cup, and the state of the roster heading into the summer transfer window. You can see our answers to Hot Time's questions here.

1) Chicago is currently on a three game losing streak including a defeat to the Michigan Bucks in Open Cup play. How seriously did the club take the tournament this year and what has led to the recent string of losses?

The Fire have a reputation of holding the Open Cup in very high regards. Having won 4 Cups, it is a competition that is held in high esteem by fans. And that makes this year's shocking exit even worse. We are used to either winning the tournament or at least going very deep. To lose to a 4th level team was a punch in the gut to be honest. I think all fans were shocked at how the team played. Furthermore, some of the depth we thought we had built in the offseason was woefully absent in the game. There really isn't a silver lining to take away from the loss, but one thing that was highlighted was the need to further improve the team. I know I was very confident of the additions we made this offseason, but that confidence has turned into a concern for me. The USOC loss showed the holes we need to fill depth wise, and now it is on Frank Klopas and the rest of the Front Office to fortify the team where we need it this summer. We already had a midfielder by the name of Alex signed and waiting to join the team on June 27th. He should hopefully be able to give us a boost.

2) How has Sean Johnson recovered after a disastrous early exit with the National Team during Olympic Qualifying?

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