Maybe it was playing at home for the first time all season that got the New York Red Bulls rolling on Sunday or maybe it was the additions of Rafael Marquez, Kenny Cooper and Wilman Conde into the starting lineup. Whatever it was, the Red Bulls looked nothing like the mess of a team they looked like in their first two games and they were rewarded with a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rapids.
It took all of six minutes for the Red Bulls to go ahead by two goals, or maybe more accurately, the Rapids to go down by two goals. Thierry Henry scored the first goal for New York and Kenny Cooper the second, but both were only possible because of horrible giveaways by Colorado that gifted the home side the opportunities.
Things began to even out after the opening minutes, but Henry made sure that Colorado knew they had no chance after the halftime break. The Rapids defense fell asleep on a free kick so Marquez chipped the ball over the top of the back line perfectly into the run of Henry. The Frenchman's finish was not easy as he had to open his hips all the way up to go back across to the far post, but he did it expertly and the Red Bulls were on cruise control.
Colorado did pull a goal back when Marquez gave the ball away and Omar Cummings smartly curled one around Ryan Meara, but Cooper answered that with a tap in of a Henry cross to put a bow on a comfortable New York victory.