Thierry Henry found the back of the net for the 10th time this season in terrific fashion on a left-footed volley with 19 minutes to play, as the New York Red Bulls earned a vital three points in a 1-0 win over conference rival, the Chicago Fire, Wednesday afternoon at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls defense recorded its fourth shutout and first clean sheet since May 9 (vs. Houston) and the victory helped New York leap into second place in the Eastern Conference with 35 points (10-5-5 record), just one behind leader Sporting Kansas City. Are you thinking of placing a bet on an upcoming football fixture, but are unsure which online bookmaker to head to, to make these bets, then make sure you come and check out the latest odds at bwinbetting.com today!
In the hot and humid conditions, both teams looked to get a foothold in the game in the first half. Off a Pavel Pardo corner kick, Fire defender Dan Gargan rose and could not put his header on frame 13 minutes in. On the other end eight minutes later, Red Bulls midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy collected a feed from Brandon Barklage and made space from 15-yards-out to fire a shot that goalkeeper Sean Johnson parried away. Soon after, Henry ran onto a Dax McCarty long ball and ripped it over the bar.
The Red Bulls continued to apply pressure and in the 32nd minute, Henry was the provider this time, looping it to Sebastien Le Toux, who lobbed it in stride over Johnson and just high. Seconds later, Ballouchy controlled a Roy Miller pass and pulled his attempt wide right. With two minutes to play in the interval, Le Toux hit a blast that Johnson went down to save.
New York took the lead for good in the 71st minute thanks to a spectacular effort from Henry. Le Toux played a diagonal ball towards the left side of the penalty box to Henry, who chested it down and volleyed it with his left foot off the right post and into the back of the net for his first goal since April 28 (Link to goal: http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2012/07/18/goal-henry-smashes-it-post-and). He is now in a third place tie in the MLS Golden Boot race.
The Fire nearly got an equalizer with seven minutes remaining. Substitute Orr Barouch flicked on a cross to Gonzalo Segares at the back post and the defender’s on target attempt was cleared off the line by Barklage.
