Forward scores twice as D.C. is blown out
The nation’s capital had a distinctly French feel to it Thursday night. Thierry Henry scored twice and added an assist to give the New York Red Bulls their biggest win ever at RFK Stadium, sending D.C. United to a 4-0 defeat in front of 18,025.
Henry, who had scored only three times since joining the Red Bulls last summer, set the tone right away, and United (2-3-1) gave him little reason not to. No D.C. United defender was even close to challenging the Frenchman on his wide-open header from 10 yards in the 12th minute off a cross from Jan Gunnar Solli.
The Red Bulls (3-1-2) should have added their second in the 28th minute when Henry stripped Dejan Jakovic and fed Dwayne De Rosario, but De Rosario shot high. Ten minutes later Henry wouldn’t make the same mistake. Solli received a lofted ball from Dane Richards and fought off United defender Marc Burch as he raced to the end line. Perry Kitchen got a touch on his centering ball, but that put it directly in Henry’s path for a 2-0 advantage.
United’s 3-0 defeat of Toronto five days earlier had masked its continued struggles to generate offensive chances, and D.C. United coach Ben Olsen pulled central midfielder Dax McCarty at halftime, hoping for an offensive punch from Branko Boskovic.
As United tried to fight back, New York goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul was forced off his line numerous times in the second half, but he didn’t register an actual save until Boskovic’s deflected header came his way for a routine one in the 71st minute. Boskovic made a strong bid for inclusion in D.C. United’s starting lineup going forward when he thumped a free kick off the cross bar two minutes later, forced a diving save with a ferocious left footer in the 87th minute and hit the post before the night was done.
But the game was out of reach after Henry set Joel Lindpere loose down the left side in the 76th minute. The Estonian midfielder cut back the ball to shake a charging Clyde Simms and pounded it past Bill Hamid to make the score 3-0.
In second-half stoppage time, 18-year-old American striker Juan Agudelo popped the ball to himself with D.C. United defenders draped all over him for a stunning volley to complete the scoring.
