BWP CAN PLAY

Bradley Wright-Phillips’ chances of getting into the starting line-up has improved massively after New York Red Bulls lost their opening match of the season 4-1 against Vancouver Whitecaps. This was a disastrous result for the team, which is hoping to win the title. It was largely because of the absence of former Barcelona striker Thierry Henry, who decided to not play in the match because of the pitch condition. Manager Mike Petke went in for the combination of Tim Cahill, who was suffering from fatigue after international involvement with Australia, and Peguy Luyindula.

However, the plan backfired and it was only after the involvement of Wright Phillips as a substitute that New York Red Bulls started looking threatening. Wright Phillips also scored the only goal of the game for New York. Even though he was happy with the goal, the player said that it was noteworthy to discuss about goals from a single player in the 4-1 thrashing. Petke will have been impressed with his attitude and he is likely to begin the next match showed Henry be available once again.

The defeat also exposed the frailties in attack should Henry be unavailable. The manager is likely to address this concern in the next transfer window.

“In a 4-1 defeat, I don’t really care about the goal. I just gambled. The ball was in the air. Luckily, I got to it [and] it went in. Me, Lloyd, Jonny, we talk a lot in the training ground or before the games. I think it helps going into the games, but they are just easy guys to play with,” said Wright Phillips. “You could see towards the end of the [2013] season, he would’ve been a great asset for us in the playoffs but we didn’t go further, unfortunately for us,” said Henry.