Thierry Henry is starting to feel like his old self.
Henry scored his second MLS goal, starting the Red Bulls to a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday in a match tempered by an injury to New York's Rafa Marquez.
"For some reason today, I felt fresh, even before coming into the game," Henry said. "It was the first time I didn't feel tired before the game."
The French forward, who joined the Red Bulls from Barcelona in July, scored his first MLS goal against San Jose on Aug. 28. He put New York ahead in the 17th minute Saturday off an assist from Estonian national team player Joel Lindpere.
"We could definitely see that Thierry could do his runs and repeat them much more than before, so he's definitely getting fresher legs for every game," Red Bulls coach Hans Backe said. "So that's a good sign."
Marquez, captain of Mexico's national team, left in the 72nd minute because of an ankle injury
"It's the same injury I think he got in the second international game for Mexico, against Colombia," Backe said. "I haven't talked to him or the trainers. I don't think it's too bad."
New York's lineup has been boosted by the summer acquisitions of Henry and Marquez.
"When you play with a guy like Rafa, it will calm you down," Henry said. "When he came out, we kind of suffered a bit. ... When he's around, it's easier for us to come up from the back."
New York, second to Columbus in the East at 12-8-4 with 40 points, is closing in on a playoff berth after missing the postseason last year. Colorado is fourth in the West at 9-7-7 with 34 points.
"From this point on, and probably well before we got here, this is a very difficult place now to come play a game of football," Rapids coach Gary Smith said. "There's a buzz around this place. You can feel it when you're here."
Rookie Tim Ream made it 2-0 in the 32nd with his first MLS goal, scoring off Tony Tschani's corner kick.
"It was a set play. We've been working on that play for the last couple of days now," said Ream, who may soon be considered for the U.S. national team.
Omar Cummings raced in from midfield to score to cut the lead in the 52nd minute. Dane Richards scored off a scramble in the 58th. Henry flicked it past two defenders to Juan Pablo Angel, who pushed the ball to the darting Richards.
I think we could've scored a few more. I'm delighted by the performance, more importantly, the result. I think we set ourselves up in a very good way to get into the playoffs. I'm sure the more games we play, the better we're going to get. At the end of the day if we make those playoffs anything can happen."
"I think you can see the more we play, the more comfortable we are," Angel said. "We are beginning to understand each other, as well. We're creating chances, and we're solid."
