Can’t It Always Be This Much Fun?

Be honest, how many of you were expecting a JPA jump-slash?

Seriously, is there anything better than going into D.C. and stomping them out?  I think not.  If last week’s performance against the Quakes was impressive, than we need to find a new word to describe the show that New York put on in RFK.  Much like last week, everything seemed to click, but it always seems so much better when dispatching United, doesn’t it?

Coming into Thursday’s fixture, both team’s had a fair amount of momentum on their side, both coming off of 3-0 wins, with D.C. taking care of TFC at BMO Field.  Charlie Davies got the starting nod from Coach Ben Olsen as D.C. looked to continue to find the back of the net at their league-best pace.  But Hans Backe countered with the same lineup that dominated San Jose a week before, and the same lineup that has conceded just two goals all year (both on defensive gaffes, but that’s besides the point).  The result was a wake up call United, a reaffirmation for the Red Bulls.

Now there are plenty of reasons to be clamoring after that 4-0 win.  There was Thierry Henry earning his first brace as a Red Bull and setting the tone for the evening, you had Juan Agudelo entering as a late sub and still managing to put one in the back of the net in fantastic fashion (doing his best Henry impression), and another great performance from the backline in yet another shut out.  But far and beyond the performance that stood out to me the most was that of Jan Gunnar Solli.

The Norwegian right back got forward time and time again, linking up with the speed of Dane Richards to wreak havoc on the D.C. defense.  Solli’s well timed runs and precision passing led to three of New York’s tallies, setting up Henry twice and Agudelo once late in the game.  His vision and ability to stretch the defense was something we really hadn’t seen up to this point.  Even from the right back position, admittedly not his preferred spot on the pitch, Solli was able to contribute to the offense countless times by whipping in crosses from the flank and playing 1-2 passes with The Great Dane near the sidelines.

Throughout my first trip to RFK, I made it a point to watch certain players throughout the game, namely Teemu Tainio.  I noticed that OptaJack reported that Tainio was the most accurate passer in all of MLS this season, and he truly is impressive on the ball.  Even with D.C. constantly pressuring him, Tainio was composed on the ball and almost always picked out the open man to play a picture perfect ball.  People may have been worried that New York’s midfield distribution would be hurt by Rafa Marquez moving to the backline, but I’d say that Tainio is even an upgrade from Rafa, as good as he is.  Besides, Rafa and Tim Ream still manage to make purposeful passes from their deep lying positions to kick start the offense (see Joel Lindpere’s goal).

Once again, Mr. Henry thoroughly impressed me.  He was active all night and constantly looking for the ball.  His ability to find open space in the attacking third was impressive (or perhaps it was D.C.’s defensive ineptitude, but I’ll give Henry the credit here).  This is the type of play that we all expected when he first signed last July, and I’m sure every Red Bull fan is happy that he’s finally proving the doubters wrong.  There should be no more questioning as to whether he still has anything left in the tank.

All in all, another great win for New York to vault them atop the table in the Eastern Conference.  Perhaps the most surprising tidbit of info from the night was both Backe and Henry’s praise of D.C. after the game.  Backe said that United was the best team the Red Bulls have faced so far and Henry said that the 4-0 score line wasn’t truly indicative of how the match went.  What do you think?  Were Backe and Henry being gracious in victory or was it truly their honest opinion?  Let me know down below.

P.S. I loved walking in with the RBNY supporters as we sung “D.C. United Went To Rome to See the Pope,” I only wish that I didn’t come with United fans so I could have sat with them.  Oh well, a win’s a win, and I’ll take a D.C. beat down any day of the week.

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Category: CURRENT ROSTER, Dane Richards, Jan Gunnar Solli, Joel Lindpere, Juan Agudelo, News, Rafa Marquez, Red Bulls, Roundup!, Team News, Teemu Tainio, Thierry Henry, Tim Ream