Thierry Henry scored in the first half and Fabian Espindola added a goal on a wild play with 10 minutes left Saturday night as host New York beat Toronto FC, 2-0, to take over sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto (4-14-11) was eliminated from playoff contention.
The Red Bulls (14-9-6) dominated play from the start and did not allow Toronto to get any scoring chances, as goalkeeper Luis Robles registered his ninth shutout of the season.
The Red Bulls broke through in the 32d minute, when rookie Michael Bustamante, making only his fourth appearance of the season and first start, made a solid run with the ball, then made a perfect pass to the wing. Dax McCarty then slid the ball across to a diving Henry, who knocked it home.
Advertisement
It was Henry’s ninth goal of the season and his 40th goal for the Red Bulls, placing him third all-time among goal scorers in the franchise’s history. Only Juan Pablo Angel (58) and Giovanni Savarese (41) have scored more.
The Red Bulls scored an insurance goal in the 80th. Espindola, who had just entered the game a minute earlier in place of Bradley Wright-Phillips, made an incredible play off a mad scramble for the ball. The ball floated 6 yards to the right of the goal, right along the goal line, but Espindola jumped and got his head on the ball and it managed to get by Joe Bendik for a 2-0 lead.
Even Henry was shocked that Espindola’s shot went in for his eighth goal of the season, trailing only Henry for the team lead.
United 2, Galaxy 2 — Substitute Kyle Porter scored in the 84th minute to help D.C. United to a home draw with Los Angeles.
Porter’s goal came three minutes after Michael Stephens scored for the first time in three seasons to put Los Angeles in front.
Advertisement
Robbie Keane also scored his team-leading 13th goal early for Los Angeles (13-10-5) and added his team-leading 11th assist on Stephens’s effort, while Chris Pontius tied it for United with a late first-half goal in his first start since July.
Crew 2, Impact 1 — Chad Marshall and Dominic Oduro scored in the second half to lead Columbus to the comeback victory in Montreal.
The Crew (10-14-5) ended a four-game unbeaten run for Montreal (13-7-6), which lost at home for only the second time this season.
Timbers 1, Chivas USA 1 — Diego Valeri scored in the 50th minute to lift the Portland to a draw in Carson, Calif. Bryan de la Fuente scored in the 23d minute for Chivas USA (6-15-8).
Whitecaps 0, Earthquakes 0 — Host San Jose and Vancouver played to a scoreless draw, damaging both teams’ hopes of getting back into the Western Conference playoff picture.
Rapids 2, FC Dallas 1 — Vincente Sanchez scored in the 59th minute and then sent in a cross that was deflected in for an own goal in the 65th for host Colorado.
Dynamo 1, Union 0 — Ricardo Clark scored in the 53d minute to lift visiting Houston over Philadelphia.