By Patrick Horne
All the scoring during Wednesday night’s New York Red Bulls-Colorado Rapids match-up at Red Bull Arena came in a short span of six to seven minutes.
In the 27th minute, Colorado’s Jeff Larentowicz registers the first goal of the game from the penalty spot after New York Red Bulls defender Roy Miller fouls Rapids forward Andre Akpan in the penalty area; Thierry Henry hits back for the Red Bulls in the 29th minute as he hits his sixth goal of the season off a cross from Dwayne De Rosario; Larentowicz struck again, in the 32nd, this time from a low free kick from about 25 yards that went through the wall and goalkeeper Greg Sutton; Luke Rogers finally equalized in the 33rd off an assist from left fullback Miller.
So that’s it! Game over! Not much else happened after this period to excite the 18,081 fans on hand in mildly cool temperatures on a Wednesday night as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
New York (4-3-517 pts) is now tied with Philadelphia atop the Eastern Conference standings, while defending champion Colorado Rapids (4-3-5, 17pts.) wrapped up its fourth straight draw. New York is on the road next Saturday against the first-year team Vancouver Whitecaps, which has not lost a match at home this season, then returns to Red Bull Arena on Saturday, June 4 versus the Columbus Crew.
In other MLS games Wednesday night, FC Dallas (6-3-3, 21 pts.) knocked off Seattle Sounders (4-4-5), 1-0; Dallas fullback Brek Shea scored in the 18th minute for his fourth goal of the season, assisted by Andrew Jacobson.
Landon Donovan scored his league-leading eighth goal of the season from a penalty as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the Houston Dynamo 1-0. Donovan’s 46th-minute goal gave Los Angeles its third straight win and this one was without David Beckham, who was in Manchester, England for a testimonial match for his friend and long time Manchester United fullback Gary Neville.
Sporting Kansas City defeated New England Revolution, 5-0, to advance in the U.S. Open Cup. Chance Myers and C.J. Sapong each scored two goals in helping the rout.
Warner Summoned
According to a report in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian newspapaer on Thursday, May 26, FIFA, the world governing body for football (soccer), summoned its Vice President Jack Warner, who is also president of the CONCACAF region (Caribbean, North and Central America region), to its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland last Sunday, May 29, to answer accusations of bribery. The accusations came from CONCACAF General Secretary and FIFA Executive Committee member Chuck Blazer. The bribery allegations are considered very serious and could mean consequences for Warner, compared to other such situations in the past that Warner has had to face because these allegations came from within the FIFA organization.
Warner, along with Mohamed bin Hammam, another FIFA official from Quatar who is expected to opposed current FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the FIFA elections on June 1, are accused of offering brides of US$40,000 to CFU (Caribbean Football Union) officials for their votes in the upcoming elections.
CONCACAF has some 40 votes and is a primary voting block that, in the past, have decided the FIFA presidency. The newspaper reported that the alleged bribes were said to have been offered at a CFU meeting in Trinidad and Tobago on May-10-11, this month. Over the years, and as recent as a month ago, Warner has been the subject of bribery allegations.
Freddy’s Back
Twenty-one-year old Freddy Adu, the Prodigal Son of U.S. soccer, has been welcomed back into the fold after a two-year absence as he was recalled to the U.S. national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which starts on June 3rd in stadiums across the U.S. Adu, who plays for Rizespor in Turkey, will suit up for the U.S. friendly on June 4, against World Cup champion Spain at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts.
The U.S. first plays Canada on June 7 in Detroit. The rest of the U.S. Gold Cup squad: goalkeepers Tim Howard, Nick Rimando and Marcus Hahnemann; defenders Carlos Bocanegra, Tim Ream, Eric Lichaj, Jonathan Spector, Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Bornstein and Clarence Goodson; midfielders Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Jermaine Jones, Sacha Kljestan, Robbie Rogers, Freddy Adu and Benny Feilhaber; and forwards Juan Agudelo, Chris Wondolowski and Jozy Altidore
