Match Thoughts: New York Red Bulls vs. Colorado Rapids

Cooper & Henry celebrate the Red Bulls first win of 2012 (Getty Images)

If you had just looked at the records of these two teams coming into this match, you probably wouldn't have expected this result. Seems like there was a lot of that going around world football this weekend. New York came into their opener fresh off of road losses at San Jose and Salt Lake, and they really looked to be struggling. The Rapids had taken all the points from their first two, including a home win against Columbus and road win at Philly.

It didn't take the Red Bulls very long to turn all that right on it's head. In the third minute of the match, Colorado's Ross LaBauex tried a risky back pass that ended up at the feet of Thierry Henry. You had to know what he was going to do with it. The Frenchman easily slotted the goal by a stunned Matt Pickens to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately for the Rapids, it wasn't anywhere close to being done. In the 6th minute Kenny Cooper made a great run into the area and took a pass from Henry. Cooper hit the goal home to the far post to make the lead 2-0 and send the home crowd into a frenzy.

The Rapids settled down a little after that though, and carved out a couple of good chances. They had to be thinking it would be great just to get one back before halftime, but it wasn't to be. Jaime Castrillon got his head to the end of a set piece in the 32nd minute, but Ryan Meara made a nice play and grabbed it. In the 42nd minute, they got another look from a set piece but Tony Cascio put the free kick just over the bar to ensure the scoreline still read 2-0 going into the interval.

Thierry Henry struck once again fairly quickly in the second half. In the 53rd minute he got in behind the Rapids defense on a set piece. Ok, more like he torched the Rapids defense on a set piece. In true Henry fashion, he slipped the ball past Pickens and made it 3-0.

All was not lost to the Rapids though, at least not yet. After all, New York will give you chances. In the 77th minute, Rafa Marquez channeled Tim Ream and gave the ball up near his own area. Omar Cummings lobbed the ball over Meara for a Rapids goal that made it 3-1.

At that point all the Rapids needed was one more quick goal to make the Red Bulls nervous, but it didn't happen. In fact, they conceded again to let the Red Bulls seal the deal. A scrum ensued in front of the Rapids goal in the 89th minute and somehow Kenny Cooper managed to poke the ball into the net to make the final score 4-1.

A great win for the Red Bulls, although they did look vulnerable at times. They clearly have the tools to go far if they can stay healthy and Meara can be solid. For the Rapids, 6 out of the first 9 points isn't too bad, especially with 2 games being on the road. Thierry Henry was awarded MLS player of the week for week 2 for his performance.