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New York overwhelms Rapids
New York found a little too much space in the first half and did just enough in the second to cut down the Colorado Rapids 3-1 on Saturday afternoon in Patterson, New Jersey.
The Red Bulls dominated all but about 10 minutes of the first half in building a 2-0 lead. Both goals were impressive as the team with three Designated Players — Juan Pablo Angel, Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez — looked like a squad that was coming together as the playoffs approach.
Colorado started playing better in the second half, and Omar Cummings delivered the first shot of a comeback. Racing along with the ball on his left foot, Cummings wound up from nearly 30 yards out and drove the ball into the upper 90, just kissing the crossbar as former Colorado ‘keeper Bouna Coundoul dove to his right. It was Cummings’ ninth goal of the season, tying him with Conor Casey for the team lead.
Dane Richards restored the New York lead in the 58th minute when he snared a Jamie Smith mishit in the box, stepped up and fired into the back of the net. It was Richards’ second goal of the season and came as Colorado had been controlling play and digging for a tying goal. It would prove to be the goal that finished the Rapids.
It says a great deal about the improvements of the Red Bulls that Angel was a nonfactor in the first half, but his team led 2-0. Two months ago, pre-Henry and Marquez, Angel couldn’t have been that quiet for 45 minutes if the Red Bulls were to stay in the game.
On Saturday, Henry put New York up in the 17th minute with his second goal as a Red Bull. He played a give and go at the top of the box on the left side with Joel Lindpere. A backheel pass from Lindpere allowed Henry to break in from the left and lance the ball past Matt Pickens and into the goal on the far side.
Tim Ream doubled the margin in the 32nd minute with a lovely finish on a perfectly executed set piece. Rafa Marquez took the kick from the left side about 25 yards out. He chipped it to Tony Tchani on the back post, and Tchani delivered a laser back across the box. Ream knocked the ball in as he ran toward the opposite post.
Colorado fell to 9-7-7, 34 points, while New York improved to 12-8-4, 40 points.
Yellow Alert: In his second game, Anthony Wallace picked up his first yellow card for a foul on Richards in the 10th minute. Jamie Smith garnered one in the 28th minute for clipping Marquez from behind. In the 30th minute, New York’s Chris Albright was carded for a foul on Smith. Wells Thompson couldn’t control his tongue in the 70th minute and picked up a card for dissent after fouling Marquez.
Injury Action: Julien Baudet went off in the 74th minute after he pulled up on the end of a run. Baudet was grabbing at the back of his left leg before he limped off.
Rapids 11: Pickens, Wallace, Baudet (Scott Palguta, 74), Drew Moor, Kosuke Kimura, Smith (Thompson, 67), Mehdi Ballouchy, Jeff Larentowicz, Pablo Mastroeni (Cladio Lopez, 74), Cummings, Casey.
Red Bull 11: Coundoul, Roy Miller, Ream, Mendes, Albright, Marquez (Seth Stammler, 71), Lindpere, Tchani, Richards, Angel (Macoumba Kandji, 88), Henry.
Next: The Rapids play three of the next four games at home, starting with the New England Revolution at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Colorado beat the Revolution 2-1 on April 24.
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