Once Thierry Henry was sent off, the New York Red Bulls had no chance. They were already in a tough spot, desperate for a road result against a team that has been tremendous at home and playing well of late, but down a man? Forget about it. The Frenchman got the boot, Teal Bunbury and CJ Sapong got goals and Sporting Kansas City got a 2-0 win. With it came a spot in the playoffs, which they clinched with the win, as well as a spot tied atop the Eastern Conference with just one match left. Ohhhh, this is getting fun!
Sporting Kansas City Vs. New York Red Bulls, 2011 MLS: Sporting Clinches Playoff Spot With 2-0 Win
Henry got tangled up with Roger Espinoza in the 28th minute and a couple moments later when Espinoza was lying on the ground, Henry ran into him and kneed him in the back of the head. intentional? Maybe, but he certainly could have avoided Espinoza if he really wanted to so he saw red and Sporting saw a 10-man side they could tear apart.
Bunbury wasted two golden chances in the first half, but didn’t waste his first chance of the second half. When a ball was chested down for him, he hit a beauty of a side volley and Sporting were ahead 1-0. It was just for a striker that had been a handful for the Red Bulls’ back line all match, but then he got help from Sapong.
Just a minute after coming into the match as a substitute, Sapong scored a great goal, knocked the ball home from close range and around a defender to put the home side up 2-0, locking up the win and the playoff spot in front of a full house at Livestrong Sporting Park.
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