I was fortunate enough to be able to catch the New York Red Bulls game this weekend. As much as I'm a fan of Thierry Henry, I've never actually watched a full game in which he played. Every time that I would try to sit down for a Red Bulls game, he either wasn't playing or I got distracted by something else that was going on.
So, yesterday, I cleared my schedule and was able to sit down with some snacks and enjoy. Photos are courtesy of the New York Red Bulls Facebook page unless otherwise noted. Visit them
here, and be sure to leave a like for them.
The first thing that I noticed was how quickly Houston's defense would converge on Thierry Henry when he was on the ball. It wasn't uncommon for Houston to assign 4 or so players to what appeared to be an Henry assault squad. While this strategy was somewhat effective as the Frenchman never was able to find the net, it was foolish in that New York has a striking force that's greater than just one man. Their excessive marking of Henry led directly to Espindola's stunner in the 60th minute and space for Johnny Steele in the 88th minute off a beautiful through pass from the skipper himself. The latter goal was an exceptional piece of art and exploitation rolled into one beautiful package. Hearing the stadium erupt was absolutely electric.
Secondly, my good friend once told me that form comes and goes, but class is permanent. Thierry Henry is 35 years old now and there are rumors that he might retire after next season. He doesn't have the pace that he used to, he doesn't have much of an attacking work rate either, but you can still tell--whenever he's on the ball--that he is unmistakably a world class striker and forever will be. He is a legend in his own time, truly. While the opportunities to witness it were few and far between it was breathtaking to watch the way that he controls the ball at his feet. It's almost like he's dancing and the ball is just a happy coincidence of his motion. It was emotional to see.
Fabian Espindola's goal in the 60th minute was gorgeous. there's no way around it. They say that a player on a fast break is something that can leave you speechless, and I think that's how I felt for the five seconds that he was on the ball until I literally sprung up from my seat and started cheering like a hooligan when I saw the net bulge. What an amazing goal--and it was coming too. New York always looked threatening, and I felt that it was just a matter of time until Houston's defense collapsed under the pressure.
Let's talk about Jamison Olave. I was extremely impressed with the Colombian. Not only was he an absolute pillar of strength in the game, but he played with an intelligence that I'm used to seeing in the Barclay's Premier League. There was more than one time in which Brandon Barklage was caught out of position and Olave was able to show exceptional pace to get out wide and stop the outside play from developing. His use of his body to block the much smaller Dynamo striking force of Giles Barnes and Will Bruin had me literally chuckling. It was a bit cheeky and it was pretty evident that it was starting to rile Houston up. I believe that given last week's performance against Philadelphia, the Red Bulls would have folded had they conceded even one goal. As such, my Man of the Match award goes to Mr. Olave as his performance was vital to helping the hungry Red Bulls pull off the win and a clean sheet.
Comments, opinions? Let me know what you think!
