Lloyd Sam and Tim Cahill scored to lead the Red Bulls in a 2-1 victory over the last-plaꦐce D.C. United Saturday night at Red Bull Arena.
Luis Robles stopped♕ a late penalty shot to help the Red Bulls (12-9-6) move into a tie with Montreal and Sporting Kansas City for first place in the Eastern Conference.
“It was 💞a complete performance,” Cahill said. “That’s what we’re all abo♉ut.”
The Red Bulls won despite playing without star forward Thierry Henry for the first 57 minutes as punishment for his blow-up at🐲 practice with head coach Mikꦇe Petke.
Petke said he and the French star had a two-hour, air-clearing conversation in the coach’s office after the parties se♏ttled down, and were on tꦰhe same page.
“Sometimes it’s like a tornado meeting a volcano,” Petke said. “It’s ❀nothing serious, but it’s being made a big deal about. It happens all over the world. It’s just that it happened here. It didn’t affect🦄 the team at all.”
Still, Henry seemed steamed about it, even after he barel▨y missed scoring two minutes after entering.
“You know I don’t talk when I don’t play,” he said, disc🤪ounting the fact that hജe played the last 33 minutes.
Pet🍬ke called keeping his international star on the bench “a coach’s decision.’
“I’m a coach and I make decisions every day,” Petk🔯e said. “I made my decision and that’s between me and my team.”
Bradley Wright-Phill⛎iꦐps made his first MLS start in Thierry’s place and barely missed scoring in the 45th minute when Sam’s pass fell just wide of the leaping forward.
United missed tying it in the 72nd minute after Ibrahim Sekag♚ya pulled down D.C.’s DeWayne De Rosario in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for the midfielder and a red card for Sekagya. But Robles dove and reached ๊to his right to preserve the lead.
“I knew it was huge to block that,” Robles said. “There were some things he did that told🅘 me he was going there, some thinꦚgs I look for.”
De Rosario knew he missed the game’s best chance to co▨☂me away with a point.
I’m disappointed in mysel🐟f,” he said. “I guess right. I hit on frame. But s♏till, at a time like that, I think I should bury it.
Sam put the Red Bulls on the board in the eighth minute on a freak goal after Cahill was knocked down in the box. There was no call on the Cahill play, but the ball🎃 came out to the right wing to Sam, whose lofted shot hit the left post.
D.C. keeper Bill Hamid t🐻ried to gather it from the ground, but after a delay for an officials conference it was determined the ball had crossed the goal line for Sam’s third sc🔯ore of the season.
Nick DeLeon got his first goal of the season for United (3-18-5), tying the score in the 36th minute. He took a chip from De Rosario from out🐠side the box, made a move out front, and barely beat Luis Robles to his right.
Cahill got the tiebreaker a minute later, converting on a header off Jonny Steele’s cross from the left side. It was 🎉Cahill’s team-leading eighth goal.
Henry finally entered in the 58th minute for Cahill and m🐻ade an impact two minutes later, dribbling 𝄹into the box and firing a shot that barely went wide right.