A week and a half ago, Red Bulls coach Mike Petke said it’s not always easy being Thierry Henry’s strike partner. But Bradley Wright-Phillips has made it look simple, with four goals in his last two games and clear chemistry with Henry.
“I think it’s because I just stay out of the way,’’ quipped Wright-Phillips, who followed up a hat trick against Houston with an equalizer in Columbus.
As long as he keeps scoring, he’ll keep starting.
With Tim Cahill back practicing fully, the Australian vet could be deployed up front alongside Henry or in central midfield, replacing Peguy Luyindula in a pairing with Dax McCarty. With Wright-Phillips third in MLS in scoring with those four goals, that might be an easy choice when the Red Bulls play Sunday at Dallas.
“Tim is comfortable in certain positions and he’s equally comfortable [in either],’’ Petke said. “Bradley right now is doing well as far as producing, so you’d think it would be foolish to take Bradley out this weekend.’’
The Red Bulls are 3-1-1 since Cahill pulled his hamstring, riding a three-game unbeaten streak. Wright-Phillips’ emergence has been a big reason why. He logged just 278 minutes combined through the first six games, only two of them starts. But he’s started the last three games and clearly found his footing.
“Yeah, I feel like when you’re in and out of the team … obviously when you’re a striker you need to score. The manager’s not going to just play you if you’re not scoring. When it comes down to me, I had to score,’’ Wright-Phillips said.
“He’d put me in and I didn’t score. He took me out, he put me in and I didn’t score. It’s one of those. I knew if you get goals you get more respect and people see what you can do. Now, it just comes down to scoring. … If you score goals, you play. It’s as simple as that.’’
Wright-Phillips’ hat trick against Houston earned him the second-highest Castrol Index rating in MLS that week. The 29-year-old is ranked fourth overall this season as he has formed a dangerous partnership with Henry.
“You know Thierry: He likes to drop in, go in the hole and create things. Me, on the other hand, I like to run in behind, so it just kind of works,’’ Wright-Phillips said. “Any striker like me that likes to run in behind, they could play with Thierry. I feel like it would just happen.’’
Henry had paired well with Luke Rodgers, another fairly direct English striker who ran in behind defenders, harassed centerbacks and occupied the channels.
But the 5-foot-8, 155-pound Wright-Phillips has more pace, is better on the ball and a more clinical finisher, evidenced last weekend by the way he deftly took down Lloyd Sam’s cross in the box – with space created when Henry dragged two Columbus defenders with him – turned and laced an equalizer far post in the eventual 1-1 draw.
“At this stage, Bradley seems to have a connection with Thierry,’’ Petke said. “Bradley really understands that when Thierry is the one dropping in the attack, then he needs to be up there and needs to be occupying centerbacks and making these runs and being a pest. To his credit, he’s done that over the last three games.
“I don’t know if it’s a confidence perhaps with the goals, with him not being happy with not getting as much minutes early in the season as he wanted. Whatever the reason is, he’s worked hard. And I’m not claiming that Bradley is the greatest thing now and going to lead the league in goals. I won’t say anything like that. But he recently has been hot, and we need to keep going with that.’’