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New York Red Bulls crush the Montreal Impact 4-0

The Montreal Impact go to hostile territory and loses 4-0 to the New York Red Bulls. There were four different goal scorers on the night as Eric Alexander's opening goal was enough for the win. Thierry Henry rises to the occasion and tallies his goals and assists against the Impact.

By Sofiane Benzaza Updated
USA TODAY Sports

Heavyweight fight became more of an under-card as the Montreal Impact gets scored on four times by the New York Red Bulls. After Sporting Kansas City 3-0 over Toronto FC, the Impact is currently tied for second with the Red Bulls.

The Impact is officially a slumping team going through a bad pass. The New York Red Bulls made them look predictable and tired and Les Bleus probably were before the game.

Eric Alexander opened the score early in the game when he made his best impression of Diego Maradona in the 10th minute. Neither the run or the dribbling was impressive but the midfielder took advantage of a disorganized and slow-reacting defense. His left-footed shot beat Troy Perkins, who must have felt that the night will be long.

Less than ten minutes later, Fabian Espindola makes a run on the right side off a counterattack. Loosely marked by Matteo Ferrari, he has all the time to pause and find Thierry Henry in the box. The unmarked French legend taps the cross into the net. Alessandro Nesta did not look great on that play and neither did Matteo Ferrari.

Andres Romero, who has been inconsistent all season, felt the impatience of Marco Schallibaum and was subbed out at the 36th minute. Blake Smith came in and was an improvement on the left side for the Impact.

Hope came early in the second half when both Justin Mapp and Marco Di Vaio had great chances to cut the lead to one goal. A nice combination between Daniele Paponi and Mapp freed space for the left-footed midfielder. Mapp unleashed a low powerful shot but Andres Robles made a key save. Marco Di Vaio, getting away from Olave's marking, also unleashed a precise shot that Robles had to punch away.

A few minutes later, Blake Smith sent a precise cross from the left side that Marco Di Vaio put a head on. The header went in and beat the New York goalkeeper. Unfortunately,the goal was called offside as Di Vaio was barely a few inches in front of Jamison Olave.

That same hope was crushed when Tim Cahill scores off a corner kick without being marked (again). His powerful header was delivered by Thierry Henry, who has found his favorite punching bag since the Impact joined MLS.

The sour cherry on top was in the form of a penalty kick. Peguy Luyindula converts a penalty kick in the 88th minute when Lloyd Sam is taken down in the box. The call was not the best of them at first but it seemed that Jeb Brovsky clipped Lloyd Sam. At this point, the game was officially over if it was not already when Cahill scored the 3rd goal.

  • Davy Arnaud came back in his favorite central midfield position. His defensive work was precious even though it was not the cleanest of his performances technically. He was not happy when he was subbed out as he was arguably the most active warrior on the pitch.

  • Patrice Bernier: At this point of the season, is it time to give him either a fully offensive or defensive role? He does not look great as he has a lot of space to cover. Actually the whole midfield has a lot of to space to cover. Adjustments are needed and hopefully not a construction site.

  • Blake Smith did not surprise anyone with a decent performance, after having played approximately 60 minutes. He is close to claim a starting spot but is still young and developing as a professional. Managing expectations around Smith is important for fans, media and observers. The Impact is doing a good job to get him into major MLS minutes.

  • Justin Mapp was a breath of fresh air when he was not on the floor. The Red Bulls has identified him as a threat and marked him closely all game. There were a few plays in which Mapp seemed to be aggressed physically but this is professional soccer after all.

  • The Paponi-Di Vaio duo was not at its best but getting the ball to them was not easy. The good news is when both were able to switch their markers, Di Vaio found more space when he got away from Olave.

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