New York Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch
On the significance of winning against local rivals NYCFC:
This was a huge match. The energy leading up to the game was big. The energy around the stadium on the night was big. We knew it was going to be. We knew they were going to come with a lot, and they did. They threw a lot at us. They had a very good second half. We had some heavy legs and we hung in there. Luis [Robles] made some big saves. There is no doubt that this was special.
On if this was the defense's best performance of the season:
[A] little nervy in the beginning, for sure. Yeah, we've worked a lot on the tactics and some of the individual defending and guys were able to stand up guys like [David] Villa - Villa didn't have an easy day. He caught a lot of balls in and around the 18 where he's been dangerous all year but he didn't have a lot of free looks. That's a credit to each one of our guys.
On bottling up Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo in midfield:
Yes, that was a big emphasis on how we wanted to play. We wanted to make sure neither of those two had an easy day. Credit to, again, Sacha, Dax, and Felipe in middle of the field, with heavy legs. I think they took it as a personal challenge to play against great players like that.
On new signing Gonzalo Veron getting only a few minutes at the end of the game:
Yeah, you're trying to evaluate who to use and how to keep different guys on the field. For Gonzalo, it was not an easy moment to just throw him in the game after he's only been here for a few days. I was trying to balance out where to use him, how to use him, if to use him. It's funny because we were ready to sub him on right before the second goal and that goal helped alleviate some of the pressure of going on in that moment, which I thought was good.
On Felipe Martins' performance tonight:
Yes, I think that he has gained clarity in terms of his role and in terms of the expectations for him. He cares so much and he wants to give so much to the team that sometimes he starts to operate outside of his boundaries. It's just trying to remind him that he's a very good player, especially when he plays to his strengths and he plays to his role. When he does that I think he's absolutely fantastic. I think he showed that tonight.
On tearing down the mystique surrounding Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard:
I can't take credit for that. We have a fearless team. That was a personal challenge, I think, for those guys. I think our guys wanted to prove a point and go in there and play against world-class players [and] show they're up for the task. The way we play and how we play and who we are is still going to make us successful.
On the role youth and system plays in being able to play three games in eight days:
It was another game where we put three homegrown players on the field. We had Matt Miazga, Connor Lade, and Sean Davis on at the end in an important moment for the club. There was a lot of talk a few months ago from you guys asking me how we would do in the summer and 'would we be able to hold up in the heat' and everything else. I said we'll be fitter than everyone else, we'll be stronger than everyone else. We're younger than everybody else and we can play fast.
On if he views NYCFC as a contrast to the way both teams were constructed:
That's their approach. It's their philosophy. It's fair enough. It has made a big splash in the community, right? I think a lot of people are excited about players like Pirlo and Lampard and Villa, and rightfully so. Great players, great careers, amazing, right? It's just different from what we're doing. We're sticking to what we're doing. Even when we added a guy like Shaun Wright-Phillips, who I consider a big name, as well. You can see that he fits our style, fits our philosophy, so in some ways, even though he's an outlier from an age perspective, I think he fits into our philosophy.
On if sweeping NYCFC in the season series is key to gaining a foothold with the fans:
Yeah, I think there is pride involved in the city. I'll be straight, I think them being in the league has been great for the city of New York and great for the league. I've never seen this city so alive with soccer. For actual local teams for people to be passionate about, for them to take sides, for them to attach themselves to the identity of whichever team they want to attach themselves to, it's been awesome, man.
On the play of Connor Lade recently:
Connor has the heart of a lion. He just goes, steps onto the field, he's not afraid, he competes at every level, he's ready to run, he wants to gain an edge on every guy he plays against, and I knew that from watching him at other places. I was always impressed with the effort, workrate, and competitiveness that Connor puts on the field. I've just to instill in him that, even in moments when Chris Duvall was playing ahead of him, that we still believed in him, we needed him to stay sharp, we needed him to stay committed, and we needed his mentality to stay strong just in case he was ever called on. It's kind of how we work with all of our reserves. Connor deserves a lot of credit because now in an important moment in the season when we need him, he's shown up big. He's shown up big.
New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles
On the energy of the game:
We knew they were going to come with a lot of energy and it was important for us to match that energy. And maybe we didn't in the first few minutes but that's part of my job description to come up with saves once in a while. So after that the defense was phenomenal.
On if it was the best defensive performance of the season:
Yes. I think for 90 minutes that it was pretty complete performance. Sure if we are being critical there were some opportunities that we could have done without. Lampard got a couple looks, but they weren't good chances but look we are a young defense. To just limit the praise to those four, I think isn't enough. It stared up top with Bradley. You saw the effort he put up top. But to answer your question yeah I think it was the best defensive performance over 90 minutes for the season.
On the effort of Sacha Kljestan and Andrea Pirlo today:
Obviously we like Sacha to be able to roam freely and create chances, but tonight was a unique situation. Yesterday during film we didn't want to tilt with too much emphasis towards Pirlo but we had to mend and I feel Sacha did a good job with closing off space.
New York Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan
On if it was his job today to watch Andrea Pirlo:
Not really but I was told to make sure when he got the ball he didn't have time to pick his head up and get the ball where he wanted it. Jesse said when he got the ball to attack his right foot and I think we did a very good job with that.
On what he thought about the emotions on Pirlo's face during and after the game:
He has the same emotions on his face at all times, but I could tell he was frustrated. We were a little physical with him and he doesn't like that. He's an amazing player and he has a lot of class and a lot of talent but I think we made things hard on him tonight.
On his midfield combination with Dax McCarty and Felipe:
I don't think we really harped on it. We were excited about the matchup to be honest. We had been watching them for the past couple of weeks and we felt that we could exploit them.
On if it felt like more than three points and on the sweep:
That part feels good. In their first season we took all nine points. There is always going to be next season and the season after that but for now we are happy.
On being surprised early on and settling into the match:
I think it was just us settling in the game and us figuring things out on the field. They played well tonight. I think this was their best game they played against us this year.
On NYCFC's early chances:
Luis made a big save on Mix's chance. Soccer is about moments and games and big moments. Luis save was a big moment and I think we scored 15 minutes after that. So those things happen in soccer. Sometime games go your way and tonight the game went our way.
New York Red Bulls defender Connor Lade
On NYFC's skill set:
New York is an extremely talented team, and we knew that coming in. We knew that they were a very dangerous team and can hurt you in many ways, so we had to come out and really play our game and just play for one another.
On Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo:
With players like that, you just can't give them time on the ball. We watched games of them in the past where they've been given a lot of time and people are shying off of them and that's when they hurt you the most, so we wanted to make it hard for them to get in sync, I thought we did a pretty good job of that.
On preseason chatter:
These are the types of win that show what our team is all about. We really want to be a unit this year, and [Jesse and Ali] do a really good job of making us play as one, and they laid out a game plan for us in the beginning of the year, and I think every day we're getting more comfortable with it. A result like this tonight really makes you feel good about the system we have in place and we're really excited for the future.
New York Red Bulls forward Mike Grella
On the team's layout:
We fight for each other, work for each other, we train hard in training every day, no one's above anyone here, everyone's fighting for their spots, it's just a healthy environment, it's a real team. It's one of the best put together teams I've ever been a part of.
On what makes this team special:
I enjoy fighting for the guys next to me, I enjoy fighting for all the guys that are playing, the guys that come off the bench are fantastic. It's just a real family style team, and everyone's fighting for each other.
On if he knew he'd have this great of an experience coming to New York:
Absolutely not, I was fighting for my career. I didn't think it would ever be this good. When I spoke to Jesse, I just thought he was an intelligent guy, can manage players well, but he's fantastic, beyond even how good I thought he was.
