October 27, 2012
HE'S NOT SATISFIED
Henry: 'We have to play better, raise the bar in the playoffs'

Thierry Henry celebrates his goal against Philadelphia on Saturday. Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images

CHESTER, Pa. -- It was a time to be happy and celebrate a bit.

After all, the Red Bulls had just about secured third place in the Eastern Conference and avoided a knockout-round game in the Major League Soccer playoffs thanks to a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday afternoon.

But team captain Thierry Henry was not in a celebratory mood at PPL Park.

“First half yes, second half no," Henry told reporters after the encounter. "We got a free one then I added one. We killed it in the first half, but in the second half we came up short. We got to do better.”

Later in the post-game interview, Henry added: "We have to play better, raise the bar in the playoffs. We can have that togetherness and play better. It will be nice having the crowd with us next weekend.”

The Red Bulls came out and showed the same intensity as they did in their scoreless home draw with Sporting Kansas City last Saturday. They dominated the opening 45 minutes and grabbed a 2-0 advantage behind a penalty kick from Kenny Cooper, the first of his brace, and another goal by Henry.

“After the first half we came into the dressing room thinking that we were not in danger," Henry said. "We said in the second half, Let's do that again,' " Henry said. "They [the Union] came back in the second half wanting to get back into the game. They wanted it more than us in the second half. That’s why the two goals wasn’t enough.

"It can happen, it’s a derby, they wanted to finish well at home. But let’s finish on a positive note. We didn’t concede and we scored three.”

Cooper finished with a team-high 18 goals and Henry collected 15, a rare time in Red Bulls history in which two teammates scored 15 or more goals the same season.

“That’s what he does best," Henry said. "He got two today, but we all have to do a little bit more. As the center forward sometimes you got to keep the ball better. It’s not all about scoring goals, sometimes you got to keep the ball better and pass it to your teammates. But 18 goals we need that. We are going to need more of his goals going forward.”