Played
April 30, 2011 7:30 PM EDT
Red Bull Arena — Harrison, New Jersey
Referee: A. Chapin
Attendance: 20636
April 30, 2011 7:30 PM EDT
Red Bull Arena — Harrison, New Jersey
Referee: A. Chapin
Attendance: 20636
21′
Luke Rodgers
Head to Head Preview: New York Red Bulls - Sporting Kansas City
By Avery Raimondo and Seth Vertelney
Victor Decolongon
On Form
New York Red Bulls: Can a team be any more “on form” than winning consecutive matches with a cumulative seven unanswered goals? Last Thursday the New York Red Bulls traveled south to RFK Stadium, a ground where they have traditionally failed, and destroyed their rivals D.C. United. Thierry Henry, who tallied twice, Joel Lindpere, and Juan Agudelo scored one more than were managed against a lackluster San Jose Earthquakes the match before. The Frenchman, who struggled early in the season, has flourished during this brief hot spell as he put one past Jon Busch in the SJ match as well. A searing Henry firmly places RBNY in Supporters’ Shield contention.
Sporting Kansas City: In his first five seasons in MLS, Kei Kemara totalled 13 goals and three assists. Last season, his sixth in the league, he had a breakout campaign and tallied 10 goals and six assists. After a brace last weekend, his 2011 return of three goals and two assists in just four matches is showing that his 2010 was not a fluke.
Off Target
New York: The deflating truth behind the past two matches is that, well, they were only two matches. The feeling around New York is that the Red Bulls are finally living up to their potential and will continue at this pace for the rest of the campaign; however, a few more victories are needed to prove that this is not merely a streak. A dominating win, similar to those over the past fortnight, would illustrate that Real Salt Lake might actually have some competition in MLS this season.
Kansas City: It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but Sporting’s defense is still hemorrhaging goals. Only Portland has allowed more goals than Sporting KC this season, but the Timbers have played two more games. Allowing 12 goals in five matches generally finds teams exactly where Sporting see themselves right now: at the bottom of the table.
Tactics
New York: Hans Backe has the fortunate predicament of having to juggle three extremely hot strikers. Henry, the club’s – and arguably the league’s – marquee player will undoubtedly be in the Swede’s starting eleven. His partner, though, could be either Luke Rogers or Juan Agudelo. The former was the MLS Player of the Week after netting two against the Quakes, but the young American international scored an absolutely phenomenal goal against D.C. that could force Backe’s hands. Rogers was decent last Thursday; Agudelo astounded. Few would be surprised if the prodigious forward appears on Saturday from the first blow of the referee’s whistle.
Kansas City: Ryan Smith made his season debut as a substitute against New England last week, and he could make his first start this week. Birahim Diop seems the likeliest of Sporting’s three starting midfielders last week to make way. Aurelien Collin showed decently well in his MLS debut at center back, but was sent off in the 75th minute. The red card turned out to be a case of mistaken identity however, and the league rescinded Collin’s red this week, making him eligible for this weekend’s match. Expect to see him partnered with Matt Besler in central defense for a second straight week.
Intangibles
Kansas City: On paper, this match would appear to be a thrashing in the making. Kansas City’s leaky defense picked a bad time to run into the Red Bulls, who have three strikers on top form in Luke Rodgers, Juan Agudelo and Thierry Henry. Peter Vermes will have to get everything out of his men to secure any result at Red Bull Arena.
Outcome
Avery Raimondo: The Red Bulls defense will finally let one in after two consecutive clean sheets, but the potent Red Bull attack, behind the resurgent Henry, will score at least twice in New York’s third consecutive win.
Seth Vertelney: New York’s offense is too much for Kansas City to handle, 3-1 Red Bulls.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
New York Red Bulls: Can a team be any more “on form” than winning consecutive matches with a cumulative seven unanswered goals? Last Thursday the New York Red Bulls traveled south to RFK Stadium, a ground where they have traditionally failed, and destroyed their rivals D.C. United. Thierry Henry, who tallied twice, Joel Lindpere, and Juan Agudelo scored one more than were managed against a lackluster San Jose Earthquakes the match before. The Frenchman, who struggled early in the season, has flourished during this brief hot spell as he put one past Jon Busch in the SJ match as well. A searing Henry firmly places RBNY in Supporters’ Shield contention.
Sporting Kansas City: In his first five seasons in MLS, Kei Kemara totalled 13 goals and three assists. Last season, his sixth in the league, he had a breakout campaign and tallied 10 goals and six assists. After a brace last weekend, his 2011 return of three goals and two assists in just four matches is showing that his 2010 was not a fluke.
Off Target
New York: The deflating truth behind the past two matches is that, well, they were only two matches. The feeling around New York is that the Red Bulls are finally living up to their potential and will continue at this pace for the rest of the campaign; however, a few more victories are needed to prove that this is not merely a streak. A dominating win, similar to those over the past fortnight, would illustrate that Real Salt Lake might actually have some competition in MLS this season.
Kansas City: It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but Sporting’s defense is still hemorrhaging goals. Only Portland has allowed more goals than Sporting KC this season, but the Timbers have played two more games. Allowing 12 goals in five matches generally finds teams exactly where Sporting see themselves right now: at the bottom of the table.
Tactics
New York: Hans Backe has the fortunate predicament of having to juggle three extremely hot strikers. Henry, the club’s – and arguably the league’s – marquee player will undoubtedly be in the Swede’s starting eleven. His partner, though, could be either Luke Rogers or Juan Agudelo. The former was the MLS Player of the Week after netting two against the Quakes, but the young American international scored an absolutely phenomenal goal against D.C. that could force Backe’s hands. Rogers was decent last Thursday; Agudelo astounded. Few would be surprised if the prodigious forward appears on Saturday from the first blow of the referee’s whistle.
Kansas City: Ryan Smith made his season debut as a substitute against New England last week, and he could make his first start this week. Birahim Diop seems the likeliest of Sporting’s three starting midfielders last week to make way. Aurelien Collin showed decently well in his MLS debut at center back, but was sent off in the 75th minute. The red card turned out to be a case of mistaken identity however, and the league rescinded Collin’s red this week, making him eligible for this weekend’s match. Expect to see him partnered with Matt Besler in central defense for a second straight week.
Intangibles
The Red Bulls are becoming contenders
Kansas City: On paper, this match would appear to be a thrashing in the making. Kansas City’s leaky defense picked a bad time to run into the Red Bulls, who have three strikers on top form in Luke Rodgers, Juan Agudelo and Thierry Henry. Peter Vermes will have to get everything out of his men to secure any result at Red Bull Arena.
Outcome
Avery Raimondo: The Red Bulls defense will finally let one in after two consecutive clean sheets, but the potent Red Bull attack, behind the resurgent Henry, will score at least twice in New York’s third consecutive win.
Seth Vertelney: New York’s offense is too much for Kansas City to handle, 3-1 Red Bulls.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
New York Red Bulls 3-1 Sporting Kansas City
- 38.1 %
-
New York Red Bulls 2-0 Sporting Kansas City
- 28.57 %
-
New York Red Bulls 3-0 Sporting Kansas City
- 9.52 %
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Apr 17, 2013 | New York Red Bulls 0 - Sporting Kansas City 1 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Oct 20, 2012 | New York Red Bulls 0 - Sporting Kansas City 0 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Sep 19, 2012 | New York Red Bulls 0 - Sporting Kansas City 2 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Aug 26, 2012 | Sporting Kansas City 1 - New York Red Bulls 1 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Oct 15, 2011 | Sporting Kansas City 2 - New York Red Bulls 0 |
|
New York Red Bulls
   |
||
| Jun 1, 2013 | New York Red Bulls 1 - Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 | MLS |
| May 26, 2013 | New York Red Bulls 2 - Columbus Crew 2 | MLS |
| May 19, 2013 | New York Red Bulls 1 - Los Angeles Galaxy 0 | MLS |
| May 11, 2013 | New England Revolution 1 - New York Red Bulls 1 | MLS |
| May 8, 2013 | New York Red Bulls 2 - Montreal Impact 1 | MLS |
Sporting Kansas City
  |
||
| Jun 1, 2013 | Sporting Kansas City 1 - Montreal Impact 2 | MLS |
| May 26, 2013 | Sporting Kansas City 1 - Houston Dynamo 1 | MLS |
| May 19, 2013 | D.C. United 1 - Sporting Kansas City 1 | MLS |
| May 12, 2013 | Houston Dynamo 0 - Sporting Kansas City 1 | MLS |
| May 8, 2013 | Sporting Kansas City 0 - Seattle Sounders FC 1 | MLS |
| 23 | Bouna Coundoul | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | Rafa Márquez | Defender |
| 7 | Roy Miller | Defender |
| 5 | Tim Ream | Defender |
| - | Jan Gunnar Solli | Midfielder |
| 28 | Teemu Tainio | Midfielder |
| 14 | Dwayne De Rosario | Midfielder |
| 26 | Joel Lindpere | Midfielder |
| 14 | Thierry Henry | Striker |
| 19 | Luke Rodgers | Striker |
| - | Dane Richards | Striker |
| - | Greg Sutton | Goalkeeper |
| - | Stephen Keel | Defender |
| 4 | Carlos Mendes | Striker |
| - | Carl Robinson | Midfielder |
| 11 | Mehdi Ballouchy | Midfielder |
| 16 | J. Agudelo | Striker |
| 1 | Jimmy Nielsen | Goalkeeper |
| - | Michael Harrington | Defender |
| 78 | Aurellien Collin | Defender |
| 3 | Olukorede Aiyegbusi | Defender |
| - | Stéphane Auvray | Midfielder |
| 22 | Davy Arnaud | Midfielder |
| 8 | Graham Zusi | Striker |
| - | Julio César | Defender |
| 9 | Teal Bunbury | Striker |
| 23 | Kei Kamara | Striker |
| 17 | C. J. Sapong | Striker |
| 18 | Eric Kronberg | Goalkeeper |
| 5 | Matt Besler | Defender |
| 4 | Kevin Ellis | Defender |
| - | Ryan Smith | Midfielder |
| - | R. Espinoza | Midfielder |
| - | Miloš Stojčev | Midfielder |
| 1 | Craig Rocastle | Midfielder |
Results
Times In EST
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Jack McInerney Striker Philadelphia Union |
10 | 0 |
|
Marco Di Vaio Striker Montreal Impact |
9 | 0 |
|
Mike Magee Midfielder LA Galaxy |
8 | 1 |
|
Claudio Bieler Striker Sporting KC |
7 | 2 |
|
Dominic Oduro Striker Columbus Crew |
7 | 0 |
