Thierry Henry's MLS debut for New York Red Bulls as they took on the Dynamo. Pretty good start for the former Arsenal man as he assisted on both goals by Juan Pablo Angel. Get used to hear these guys names mentioned in tandem a lot.
He had a golden opportunity to get on the board in the 41st minute after Angel's clever flick sent him on a one on one situation with Tally Hall but he pulled the trigger too early and his shot trickled wide. It was an absolute sitter.
Referee Paul Ward had a momentary lapse of reason/judgment in the 44th minute when he sent off Lovel Palmer for tackling Carlos Mendes when there was absolutely no contact made- it was not even close. Just a shocking decision. The Dynamo had to play the next half shorthanded.
Mendes was also involved in the Dynamo's equalizer as Joseph Ngwenya was brought down by the Red Bulls defender after a goalmouth scramble. Brad Davis converted the spot kick. But he was found errant in a redux when Brian Ching was brought down by Tim Ream in the box- blasting the ball over after trying to out think Bouna Coundoul.
It was left to veteran Brian Mullan to deliver the final highlight of the match and it was a memorable one when he headed home in the 90th minute from a Andrew Hainault cross to even the match.
D, I heard about it. Kind of seems improbable because the amount of money to build a stadium in the city would be abortive. The Mets and Yankees have built their stadiums after cost escalations to the tune of billions of dollars and now charge an arm and a leg for tickets. The Javits center project that would have brought the Jets to the city fell through. The Nets have struggled for years to build a stadium in the Atlantic Yards area - which is now going ahead with very little community support. Building another soccer franchise in the City is going to be a gargantuan challenge - they will have to have deep pockets, an appetite to fight NYC's myriad zoning laws, and entrenched political interests between city, state, and community boards. On the face of it I would love it- a derby between two well matched teams would be fantastic for the sport. But I really don't see it happening for a long, long time.
hey shourin,
don't see a tips email addy or anything and i know this isn't the right post to discuss but i wonder if you saw this anyway.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/sports/soccer/02cosmos.html?_r=1
kind of crazy. maybe nyc proper will actually get a team after all? i highly doubt seeing a stadium built in queens, though.