Sporting KC has had captain Thierry Henry and the Red Bulls’ number, and that didn’t change in last night’s 1-0 loss.
Adding insult to injury, the Red Bulls kicked off their homestand losing their best defender and leading scorer in the process.
Centerback Jamison Olave had a tough night, beaten by Aurelien Collin for an early 13th-minute goal, and then limped off with a left knee injury 20 minutes later. Juninho getting an ill-advised red card for kicking the ball at Sporting KC keeper Jimmy Nielsen during a dead ball in extra time was the lowlight.
“I’m not happy. We lost to a good team at home, [but] I’m not happy,’’ said coach Mike Petke, whose Red Bulls (2-4-2, eight points) played five of their first eight games on the road, and were banking on making up ground with six of their next nine at home, starting last night.
The Red Bulls haven’t scored on Sporting KC for five games, since a 1-0 victory on April 30, 2011, losing five games during that time, and Sporting KC ran its MLS-high shutout streak to 519 minutes with yet another clean sheet.
When Collin shouldered off Olave to head home Graham Zusi’s corner kick off diving keeper Luis Robles’ outstretched fingers, that was the only offense Sporting KC needed.
The injury-prone Olave, who leads the Red Bulls with three goals, gave way to Heath Pearce in the 33rd minute. Petke said he didn’t think there was ligament damage, but Olave could be lost for some time, as well as Juninho if he gets suspended for hitting Nielsen with the ball.
“The message was to speed up the game. I agree maybe I shouldn’t have done it the way I handled it,’’ Juninho said. “The message was to express that the ball is there, and he kept delaying. Every time the ball would go towards him, he’d let it go by and go fetch another ball. It was just a little frustrating, and I lost my head.
“I knew when the goalkeeper fell on the ground and the referee rushed over that I probably would get a card. I’m not happy about the card and it’s unfortunate, but it’s part of the game,” he said. “I’m not happy about it, and I don’t know how many games I’m going to get as far as a suspension goes. It’s not a good feeling, but it’s not my first card, and I hope it’s the last one.’’