Jesse Marsch, Red Bulls Head Coach
On the game/response after halftime
I think you have to give credit to Philadelphia for coming out and putting us on our heels and bit and they were a little bit unlucky not to get a lead. We were a little flat. We were not as sharp as we usually are, we weren’t covering as much ground, and we couldn’t really establish our rhythm in the first half. Came in out of halftime, we weren’t happy, we said we’ve got to pick it up at all levels. And then, you know, at the beginning of the second half it’s not perfect but we get ourselves going a little bit more, and then obviously inserting Shaun Wright-Phillips into the game changed the game so that was good to see.
On switching Lloyd Sam and Mike Grella in the second half
Those guys have been locked in with Ray Gaddis and Fabinho in all these different games , we’re just trying to figure out ways if we can free them up a little bit more by switching them. Maybe find Sam a little bit more room if he’s playing against Gaddis. Not sure that it worked but thought we tried to see if we could get a better matchup.
On what he has seen from Shaun Wright-Phillips
He’s a smart soccer player and you can see how quick and crafty he is and how good he is around the goal. Even the one that he missed wide, he took so well and we’ve seen him score that repeatedly in training so he’s going to be dangerous and he provides us with something a little different than what we have so, we all know we’re getting a good player but it was certainly good to see him step on the field and make an impact so quickly.
On why Sam came out for S. Wright-Phillips
Just felt like trying to get Shaun on the field and survey who’s having a good game and who we think we need to replace to now help the game tactically and from a quality standpoint.
On the Wright-Phillips brothers connecting for the second goal
Yeah yeah, it was great. It was great to see, you can see they really enjoyed it. they’re both such good players that they’re going to naturally enjoy playing with each other and I think its so much more than just being brothers, the fact that they’re both so smart and quality footballers.
On changing formations at the end
Yeah, we went to five at the back just to try and get, we felt like we were giving away to much on the wings so we do that sometimes in games where we feel like we’ve got a lead or it’s close on the road and we don’t want to give things up on the wing. The trick with Maidana is that he drifts into those wide spots and he can create advantages in those areas so we felt that that was the way to close the game out.
Luis Robles, Goalkeeper
On if he thought about S. Wright-Phillips coming in during the game
We knew he would make a difference. He’s been training with us for the last few weeks. We know what he’s capable of, to our advantage, the league is not fully aware of and I think he put that on display today so people are going to take notice. He’s a fantastic player and his resume speaks for itself and I know that he’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing in the second half of the season.
On what it means to the team to get off to a good start
I think it continues of what we’ve been doing after that loss in Columbus. We knew that we were at the halfway point and so on the back end there were going to be a lot of important games because at that point, I believe, outside of one game, it was all Eastern Conference opponents so this is the opportunity for us to start creating separation between the other guys and us. Of course, with Philly, all the history of this season so far gave us that extra bit of motivation to come down he and get a result. I think it shows the ability of this team to bounce back from that first half and then also, I made a bad decision on the goal and the guys bailed me out and I think that also shows that we’re a family. That we not only play for the organization, we play for each other.
On the debut of S. Wright-Phillips
Shaun was fantastic. He came in, I’m hoping that we’re gonna here a lot of 98-99. I think that’s really what the guys did there with their jersey numbers and it worked out today, it paid off. We knew after watching him train with us the last couple weeks that he was going to be an important player, it was just a matter of time before he gets on the field, once the signing was done and once it got completed, we felt good about him coming onto the field this week. So, to be able to look on your bench an see Shaun Wright-Phillips as your substitute, I think that brings a lot of confidence to Jesse, the staff, and to our guys. He was brilliant, he set up the PK and he set up Bradley Wright-Phillips on the goal.
Dax McCarty, Midfielder
Thoughts on the game
I thought it was probably our worst half of the season. Philly beat us in every facet of the game tonight. It’s hilarious, how soccer is sometimes. I thought it was worst games of the season and we come out and win 3-1. The other two games, we completely dominate, they don’t even have a sniff in the game, and then they come out and beat us 2-0 in the first game and then in penalties in the second game. Soccer is a funny sport sometimes. I thought it was one of our worst games of the season tonight. We weren’t clean with the ball, our movement wasn’t sharp, I thought we lost pretty much every physical battle that we could lose. Philly’s got a game plan. They play direct, they play to their big boys. We weren’t ready to handle it even though we knew that was their game plan and I thought we were fortunate to come out of here with three points. It’s funny how soccer is sometimes.
On the impact of S. Wright-Phillips
I thought Shaun was brilliant. Some really clever touches, some really clever runs. He was dynamic, he was dangerous. He went at them 1v1, put them on their heels and he probably should have had a goal as well. I thought Shaun was excellent when he came on and I thought he changed the game for us in a very positive way.
On what the win means to them
Obviously it’s nice. If you ask me, I would much rather still be in the Open Cup but three points in the league go a long way. Obviously it’s a six point game for us. Create a little bit of distance between us and the teams at the bottom, that’s always a positive thing. I know we have numerous games in hand on most teams in the Eastern Conference, including Philly. I think it’s a step in the right direction in terms of us winning ugly. It was an ugly game from us and sometimes we try to win too pretty and it doesn’t always work out for us so, I thought Philly deserves a lot of credit. I thought they played the best that they’ve played against us this year. I thought our defense bent but didn’t break. A pretty bad mistake in the back leads to their goal and obviously we need to be sharper and clean those things up but for me they didn’t really have too many dangerous chances but we know how they’re going to play every time. They’re going to put their big boys up front and try to win second balls and knockdowns and try to be physical and out battle us and I thought they did that for the most part for the entire game. I thought we were second best all night. Soccer is a funny game, we come out on top 3-1, it’s a big win for us
Shaun Wright-Phillips, Midfielder
On his first game with the team
It wasn’t so much for the impact for me, I thought it was a hard game for us. I thought Philly played really well, especially in the first half and they kind of stopped us playing our game but I think in the second half, even from the tart, the way they started playing our game and stringing some passes together and I just thought that when I come on, I just have to add to that and hopefully create a few chances that some of us can get on the end of.
On connecting with his brother for the goal
To be honest, when the ball came down, first of all I was just thinking about making some space to try and get an assist and put somebody on the end of it and it worked out perfectly. I just know from playing that, when you hit the byline, try to cut it back rather than go across the face of goal and luckily my brother, someone was there.
On if their goal together carried any extra meaning
It’s always going to have meaning if you can help your brother achieve his targets but I think the most meaningful part is we got three points on the road and we just have to carry on to the next game.
Sacha Kljestan, Midfielder
General thoughts on the game
Not our best game but coming home with three points is very important. We’ve said it a couple of time snow where we’ve gone on the road and had to really, really put in a good effort. You know, maybe not our best game with the ball but I think the second half mentality was awesome and we came away with a good three points.
On how it feels to have S. Wright-Phillips play in a game
Yeah, I’m happy for him, for his performance. He hasn’t played in a few months, he’s been on vacation for a little while then he’s been training with us. He’s been sharp in training. Yesterday in training he stayed after and did some finishing and it was ridiculous, the talent that he has and experience that he has, it’s another great option for us and I’m really happy with the way he came in and contributed tonight.
On converting the penalty kick
Yeah, it came in a big moment in the game. Bradley, unfortunately, had missed a few and decided not to take it so I was the next one to step up. Fortunately for us, we put it in the back of the net.
Bradley Wright-Phillips, Forward
On the team’s performance
Yeah, it was a frustrating first half but the one positive we can take away from that is sometimes we play like that and we’ve conceded goals. We concede a goal in the first half. We gave ourselves a chance to still be in the game.
On his brother coming on/assisting his goal
You see when he came on, he looked sharp. He did was he was supposed to today. He got in behind the fullback, he won a penalty, he assisted on a goal, for me. Yeah I think it was good. An all-around good performance for his debut.
On if that’s it’s his first time connecting with his brother
Yeah, yeah. He tried to set me up when I was at City with him, a lot of times, you know. He was being very biased and I couldn’t finished them so he was mad at me so today I concentrated on the cut-back and put it in the back of the net.
