Reggae Boy Richards scores lightning goal for Red Bulls
HOUSTON, Texas (CMC) — Dane Richards scored his second goal of the season, but teammate Mehdi Ballouchy scored in stoppage time to earn the New York Red Bulls a 2-2 draw with the Houston Dynamo n Major League Soccer on Saturday.
The Jamaican international opened the scoring in the match, but the Dynamo took over the game, following strikes from Brad Davis and Koke in either half before Ballouchy saved the day for the visitors.
The result will send Houston (3-3-5, 14 points) to the West Coast for a May 25 match with the LA Galaxy; and drops the Red Bulls (4-2-4, 16 points) behind Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference standings ahead of a May 25 home match against defending MLS Cup champions Colorado Rapids at Red Bull Arena.
Richards lived up to his pre-match trash talk that he would take the chance to quiet the Dynamo crowd if he got it, with a strike in the 39th second of the match, smashing a Luke Rodgers knock-down past diving Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall.
His goal was both the fastest scored in Red Bull history and the fastest conceded in Dynamo history.
New York’s lead didn’t last long as Brad Davis converted a penalty in the 12th minute after rookie Will Bruin drew the foul from Rafa Márquez, whose attempted slide tackle in the box caught the forward’s ankle.
Koke later broke the 1-1 stalemate in the 82nd minute, knocking in the rebound from a Geoff Cameron header off a corner kick before Ballouchy battled for space at the near post and found himself on the end of a Joel Lindpere corner kick, snapping a quality header past Hall.