Harrison, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) – Bradley Wright-Phillips and Peguy
Luyindula found the back of the net on Sunday as the New York Red Bulls eased
to a comfortable 2-0 win over D.C. United in the first leg of their Eastern
Conference semifinal tie at Red Bull Arena.
After scoring a pair of goals for New York in their 2-1 knockout-round win
over Sporting Kansas City during the week, Wright-Phillips was at it again
early against D.C.
The England native had a great chance to put his team in front in the 38th
minute as he had space on the right side of the box for a strike on target,
but smashed it well over the crossbar.
The home side opened the scoring in the 40th minute with an exceptional
attacking move started by Lloyd Sam, who pinged a ball into the feet of
Thierry Henry in the box.
Henry then fired a back-heel pass into the path of Wright-Phillips on the left
side of the box and he fired it past United goalkeeper Bill Hamid for his
third tally of the postseason.
The Red Bulls made it 2-0 in the 73rd minute when Henry provided an
outstanding ball over the top to the feet of Luyindula, and the former Paris
Saint-Germain man blasted it home with aplomb to double the advantage.
United was simply outplayed in midfield for the duration of the 90 minutes and
failed to create many quality scoring chances.
Ben Olsen’s men will try to overturn the deficit on Nov. 8 when the teams
clash at RFK Stadium for the second leg of the tie.
