On Wednesday, Thierry Henry called Red Bulls teammate Bradley Wright-Phillips the deserving MLS MVP, and before Thursdays playoff game, the fans unveiled a TIFO that declared him the Ultimate Scoring Machine. Then the English striker went out and proved them all right, carrying the Red Bulls to a come-from-behind 2-1 win. <\/p>\n
Wright-Phillips who broke the leagues single-season scoring record with 27 goals in the regular season followed up with an encore in the postseason. His two goals in the latter stages of a one-off knockout round game gave the Red Bulls a victory over defending MLS Cup champion Sporting KC. <\/p>\n
Wright-Phillips scored on an Henry assist to tie it in the 77th minute, and then somehow got wide open in the box for a back-post header in the 90th minute. The goal set off scarlet-colored smoke bombs among the 15,518 fans, and sent the Red Bulls to their first playoff win in Red Bull Arena and first at home since 2005. <\/p>\n
The ball was quite high wasnt it? I thought I couldnt get much of it. I just tried to get it on target, Wright-Phillips said. I was pretty excited. That ball initially I thought was going to be caught. I looked at the fans and they were going crazy so it made me go nuts. It took as deflection, but I dont care. I heard the announcer say Bradley Wright Phillips. <\/p>\n
The Red Bulls will play top-seeded archrival D.C. in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The first game will be Sunday at 4 p.m., with the road leg at RFK Nov. 8. <\/p>\n
Bradley turned to me in the 60th and said we cant go home, Tim Cahill said. And I said were not going home. They were their own worst enemy. When they got that goal, it meant that we had to come out. <\/p>\n
The boys, theres a great togetherness. [Coach Mike Petke] is making sure we remember its not just about technique and football. Weve got drive and heart, and thats what this league is all about. Weve got that. <\/p>\n
The Red Bulls also have another shot at an MLS Cup before what feels like an inevitable closing of this window. The contract for the Henry, 37, expires at years end, and he is undecided about retirement. There is also continuing speculation that Cahill could be leaving. <\/p>\n
We knew if we didnt win we were going on holiday and thats not what we wanted, Henry said. <\/p>\n
The Red Bulls fell behind in the 53rd when midfielder Benny Feilhaber intercepted a pass for Eric Alexander, and played a through-ball to Dom Dwyer for the score. But the Red Bulls equalized in the 77th. <\/p>\n
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Wright-Phillips 2 goals propel Red Bulls into conference semis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Wednesday, Thierry Henry called Red Bulls teammate Bradley Wright-Phillips the deserving MLS MVP, and before Thursdays playoff game, the fans unveiled a TIFO that declared him the Ultimate Scoring Machine. Continue reading