The Red Bulls talked about Saturday’s showdown with MLS-leading Seattle as a statement game. Here’s what they stated with their 4-1 trouncing of the Sounders in front of a sellout crowd: Bradley Wright-Phillips is a legitimate MVP candidate, and they are a legit playoff contender.
Despite missing the last two games and practicing once all week with a tight hamstring, Wright-Phillips notched a hat-trick in 58 minutes and gave way to Tim Cahill, who capped the scoring. When it was over, Wright-Phillips was just three goals shy of the MLS record, and the Red Bulls (10-8-11, 41 points) solidified their hold in fourth in the East.
“I wasn’t sure [If I would play]. I came prepared to start,’’ said Wright-Phillips, whose 24 goals are three away from the MLS mark shared by Roy Lassiter and Chris Wondolowski with five matches left. The Red Bulls have won five straight at home, and their past three victories have come against the top two teams in the East (D.C. and Sporting KC) and the leaders of the West (Seattle).
“We seem to do better against the teams that’re doing well,” Wright-Phillips said. “When we play teams we should beat we tend to struggle. When you’re playing Seattle, there’s no need for a motivation speech, it just happens … As players [you’re] more competitive if a team’s doing well. Top of the West, you know you can’t take any [breaks] because you’ll be in trouble.’’
But it was shorthanded Seattle (17-8-3, 54) that was in trouble. The Sounders rested stars Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and DeAndre Yedlin, the former coming off the bench to score in the 62nd. But by then, Wright-Phillips had already notched his third hat trick of the year and blown the game open.
“I’m just happy for him because after seven games last year people were having a go at him, and rightly so because he wasn’t scoring. Right now, he’s our go-to guy, and that’s why if the boss asks me to play on the left, I’ll play on the left for him,’’ said Thierry Henry, with Dax McCarty stumping for Wright-Phillips as MVP.
“Chris Wondolowski won the MVP tying the recordI have no doubts in my mind he’s going to break the [scoring] record,’’ McCarty said. “It’s an obvious choice if he breaks it. Even if he doesn’t, he should win the MVP.’’
Wright-Phillips started quickly. He scored in the first minute off a reboundand held aloft a T-shirt that read “Get well soon Padrino” in reference to longtime equipment manager Fernando Ruiz, who just underwent heart surgery.
After Lloyd Sam got scythed down in the box by Dylan Remick to earn a penalty, Wright-Phillips put his kick just off the fingertips of diving goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the 54th. Then he finished off a sublime pass over the top from Roy Miller for a 3-0 cushion. Dempsey pulled a goal back, but Cahill scored in the 65th for the final margin, leaving the Red Bulls just a point behind third-place New England.