It was a big week for the New York Red Bulls, getting a big win (their first in five matches) over the New England Revolution.
Thierry Henry (who has been a goal scoring machine of late) got the game winning goal, continuing his fantastic play. His deep runs and long crosses kept the Revolution's defensive corps off balance all night, something the Red Bulls are going to want to see today when they take on the Timbers.
Still missing some key players due to Gold Cup duties, the Red Bulls are prepared to take on a tough Timbers team in a very difficult environment. From the New York Red Bulls official site:
"The crowd is amazing over there," said Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry.
Though being in their first year in MLS, Timbers Army is building quite an impressive resume of colorful pageantry and loud, stadium-echoing chants. The atmosphere has been brilliant at times, creating plenty of spark for the home team to feed off of.
Midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy watched a recent Timbers home match and was as impressed as Henry with the level of the support.
"It looked like it [was great]," Ballouchy said. "I saw the Colorado-Portland game. It was unbelievable."
But rather than be intimidated by the atmosphere at JELD-WEN, Red Bulls players are looking forward to a packed house their first trip to Portland. In fact, they believe they'll feed off the intensity of the crowd.
The Red Bulls can use another three points, especially after such a big win over the Revolution. New York looks to kick off its Western road trip with a band. The Red Bulls will play Portland, Seattle and Chicago after they take on the Timbers.
More after the game.
T.V. Information: 10 p.m. ET (TV: MSG Plus, Galavisión; ROOT-NW; Radio: WQBU 92.7 FM)