The Red Bulls played sluggishlt the majority of the game, only showing bursts of energy in the first half and then completely dying down in the second. Not surprising; it was their third match in 8 days.
A substitution from Coach Hans Backe could have sparked some forward momentum for the Red Bulls. The only substitution came in extra minutes at the end of the second half when Mike Jones made his MLS debut, replacing Canadian star Dwayne De Resario.
Designated player and star forward Thierry Henry played much of the game as midfielder and hovered around the center of the field. Henry did help to create the Red Bulls goal when he played a lead ball for Joel Lindpere that was poorly handled by the Chicago defense.
From the start of the Gold Cup the Red Bulls have had to do a lot of juggling to put together a solid starting lineup, at times having up to four starters missing. For this match they only had three out—Rafa Marquez, Juan Agudelo, and Tim Ream. Ream and Marquez both usually set the tempo for the defense.
Rafa Marquez suffered a hamstring injury Saturday in the Gold Cup final playing for Mexico, and there has been no news on when he will return to the Red Bulls lineup.
Even with all the missing talent the Red Bulls haven’t lost much ground in the standings. They did fall to second place in the Eastern Conference, but they’re only 3 points behind the Philadelphia Union.
The Red Bulls head home to New York for their next match against FC New York in the U.S. Open Cup.
