Sporting Kansas City remain on the East Coast for the next stop on their road swing, taking on the suddenly rampaging New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls have scored seven goals without reply in their last two games, coming off a 4-0 win at D.C. United. Sporting are coming off back-to-back losses, falling 3-2 at the New England Revolution last weekend.
National TV: Direct Kick
Local TV: MSG (New York)
Online: MatchDay Live (blackout in NY/KC)
DOWNLOAD: Full Game Guide
DOWNLOAD:Red Bulls Game Notes
REFEREE: Andrew Chapin. SAR (bench): Greg Barkey; JAR (opposite): Daniel Belleau; 4th: Edvin Jurisevic MLS Career: 27 games; FC/gm: 27.8; Y/gm: 4.7; R: 8; pens: 3
INJURY REPORT:NEW YORK RED BULLS – OUT: MF Austin Da Luz (R ankle sprain); FW Corey Hertzog (R quadriceps strain) … SPORTING KANSAS CITY – OUT: FW Konrad Warzycha (R knee surgery); FW Omar Bravo (sports hernia); PROBABLE: MF Luke Sassano (L ankle sprain)
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: KC: Michael Harrington
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (41 meetings): Red Bulls 16 wins (2 shootout), 53 goals … Sporting 16 wins (2 shootout), 54 goals … Ties 9
AT NEW YORK (19 meetings): Red Bulls 9 wins (1 shootout), 28 goals … Sporting 3 wins (0 shootout), 20 goals … Ties 7
RETURN MATCH: 10/15: Sporting Kansas City vs. New York Red Bulls, 3 p.m. CT (TeleFutura)
LAST YEAR (MLS):
6/26: KC 0, NY 3 (Ibrahim 55; Angel 82, 90)
10/2: NY 1, KC 0 (Richards 6)
- The Red Bulls won both meetings between the clubs in 2010, including a 1-0 win at Red Bull Arena on Oct. 2. That followed a 2009 season series where Kansas City won both meetings, each by a 1-0 scoreline.
- The last four matches between the teams have all been shutouts.
- When Kansas City won in 2009 at the Meadowlands, it was the first victory by a road team in the series since 2005.
- Coaches record: Hans Backe vs. KC: P2 W2 L0 D0 … Peter Vermes v NY: P3 W1 L2 D0
NEW YORK RED BULLS
- The New York Red Bulls continued their roll, defeating D.C. United 4-0 on Thursday evening at RFK Stadium. The Red Bulls have 11 points from 6 games, taking over the lead in the Eastern Conference.
LAST MATCH
- New York took the lead in the game’s 12th minute on a well-worked goal. Dane Richards flicked a long ball into space for on-rushing right back Jan Gunnar Solli, who lofted in a cross that Henry headed past United goalkeeper Bill Hamid.
- In the 38th minute, Henry doubled New York’s lead. Richards found Solli in an advanced position once again. Solli took the ball inside the box, muscled D.C. defender Marc Burch off the ball, and his deflected cross ended up in front of Henry, who powered it home.
- The visitors made it 3-0 in the 76th minute. Thierry Henry collected a ball out of the back near the midfield stripe and sent a long ball over the top to Joel Lindpere. The Estonian dribbled into D.C.’s box, got rid of Clyde Simms with a nifty move, and beat a sprawling Hamid.
- With the game in stoppage time, the Red Bulls launched a final attack that ended in a Goal of the Week candidate from Juan Agudelo. Solli again blazed forward along the right flank and sent a low cross into the box. The teenage forward flicked the ball up on the roll and in the same move half-volleyed inside the far post to finish off the rout.
- Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe made no changes to the team that defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-0 at Red Bull Arena
- NEW YORK RED BULLS (4-1-3-2): Bouna Coundoul – Jan Gunnar Solli, Rafael Marquez, Tim Ream, Roy Miller - Teemu Tainio - Dane Richards (Mehdi Ballouchy 67), Dwayne De Rosario, Joel Lindpere - Luke Rodgers (Juan Agudelo 75), Thierry Henry (Carl Robinson 81).
TEAM NEWS
- Thierry Henry scored his first two-goal game since coming to MLS and had scored three goals in a row for the Red Bulls. He’s played a part in five of New York’s nine goals (three goals, two assists).
- “I think it’s a lot with the health issue definitely [making him play better] because if you have some pain, you can’t be as explosive as you want to and you can’t run the way you want to,” Backe said.
- For a second consecutive match, Henry and Luke Rodgers were the strike partnership – and the Red Bullsscored four goals after netting three the week before vs. San Jose. Of the seven, Henry has three and Rodgers two.
- Juan Agudelo, who made a second consecutive substitute appearance after starting three of the first four games (missing one to international duty), scored his second goal of the season.
- “We have three very good strikers,” assistant coach Jan Halvor Halvorsen said. “There will be room for all three to play. (Agudelo) came on and scored a good goal. He looked very hungry.”
- Joel Lindpere, who underwent a procedure on his knee in advance of the United match, still played the entire 90 minutes, though he did limp off the field late. He did not participate in full training ahead of the Kansas City match – though he expected to be available at the weekend.
- The last time the Red Bulls scored as many as seven goals in two straight games without giving up a goal came in 2007, when New York registered a 4-0 victory on May 19 over Columbus, and followed it up with a 3-0 victory over Chicago on May 24.
- “I told you guys at the beginning of the season, once we start to score, I think we’re going to score a lot,” Henry said. “The most important thing is that we won. We scored three the other day and we scored four today.
- Bouna Coundoul has two clean sheets in his last two starts. The Red Bulls have four shutouts on the season – through three different goalkeepers. Greg Sutton backstopped the season-opening win against Seattle, and then Alex Horwath was called upon to play in the scoreless draw in Columbus.
- “Jan Gunnar [Solli] was more than active on the right hand side. He created a lot for us (against D.C.). Teemu [Tainio] was Teemu. He’s going to fight and give 100 percent,” Henry said. “But overall I think we had to defend well tonight even though [D.C. United] created some chances. They hit the crossbar, they hit the post, and Bouna [Coundoul] had a couple of saves, but we didn’t concede a goal and that’s what is important.”
SPORTING KANSAS CITY
- Sporting Kansas City lost for a second consecutive weekend, the New England Revolution coming from behind for a 3-2 win on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium. Sporting have 4 points from 5 matches on the season, sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
- Marko Perovic opened the scoring for the home side by curling home Benny Feilhaber's feed after 12 minutes,but Kei Kamara equalized two minutes later by beating Matt Reis inside the near post.Kamara picked up his second on the other side of halftime, and handed his Sporting their first lead by thumping home a disputed penalty with 20 minutes left after Kevin Alston appeared to clip Teal Bunbury in the area.
- The Revs comeback began almost immediately. Shalrie Joseph headed New England level in the 72nd minute off a Kenny Mansally free kick, and four minutes later Sporting were reduced to 10 men when a red card to KC’s new defender, Aurélien Collin, in the 76th minute opened up the game and set up Lekic’s heroics.
- The Danish striker Lekic, playing in just his second MLS game, got his head to Zak Boggs' cross from the right flank, looping it over Sporting 'keeper Jimmy Nielsen in the 83rd minute for the match-winner.
- SKC boss Peter Vermes made one changes to the team that fell 1-0 to the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium. Aurelien Collin made his MLS debut, coming in for the suspended Julio Cesar.
- SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-2-2-2): Jimmy Nielsen - Michael Harrington, Aurelien Collin (sent off 76), Matt Besler, Roger Espinoza - Birahim Diop, Davy Arnaud - Kei Kamara (Ryan Smith 87), C.J. Sapong - Teal Bunbury (Shavar Thomas 78), Milos Stojcev (Graham Zusi 58).
TEAM NEWS
- After opening their 10-game road trip with a victory, Sporting are now winless in four games. The last team with an extended road swing to start the season – the Chicago Fire in 2006, while Toyota Park was being finished – started with two wins and four draws in nine games.
- “I thought there were some really good pieces of the game for us tonight,” Vermes said. “We created some very good chances. I thought at times we defended very well, especially when we had 11 men on the field. After that, the game changed.”
- Four of Sporting Kansas City’s five games this season have featured five goals or more. SKC has lost two of those after the 3-2 loss to New England; one ended in a draw (a 3-3 result in Vancouver).
- "It’s not good to give up goals late. We just have to get back to practice this week and try to work on cutting down some of that stuff. We scored two good goals on the road and it is what it is,” Vermes said.
- Kei Kamara has scored the last three goals for Sporting, including both in the loss at New England, his third career 2-goal game. The three previous goals by SKC were also all scored by one player: Teal Bunbury.
- “Goals are goals, I’m always happy to score goals, but the more important is me letting someone score a goal when I’m marking them to get their team back into the game,” said Kamara, who was marking Shalrie Joseph on the Revolution opener.
- Sporting have seen three players sent off, and all have been high-profile international signings for this season – Omar Bravo, Júlio César and Aurélien Collin.
- “The unfortunate thing is that this is the third game that we have lost and in all three games we have not been able to finish the game with [11] men,” Vermes said. “So that’s frustrating, but we’ll have to keep working with it as a team because it’s part of what we do.”
- However, after a review by USSoccer, the second yellow card was issued to Collin in error – it should have been Birahim Diop sanctioned by referee Edvin Jurisevic. As a result, Collin will be available for the match against New York.
- Sporting have run out four different back fours in five games – with only the groups the same in the Vancouver and Columbus games. With Collin again available, the same back four could be employed by Vermes this weekend from the one in New England.
