On Saturday night, the New York Red Bulls grinded out an important 1-0 win in Chicago, and now sit a point back, with a game in hand of first-place Atlanta in the Eastern Conference and the Supporters' Shield standings.
It's the fourth straight road game New York has been involved in a 1-0 match, with the team winning three out of the four.
Captain Luis Robles, who recorded his 57th career clean sheet, and eighth of the season, spoke about the team finding a way to win ugly.
"Grinding is really the best word to describe that game," Robles said. "At the end of the day it says something about a team that can win ugly. That's what we were able to do tonight."
The deciding goal came off the foot of Bradley Wright-Phillips, who now has scored 15 goals in five-straight seasons, becoming the first player in MLS history to do so. After the match, BWP spoke with reporters about what the win means for the club.
"As I've said before, credit to a team that can win ugly," Wright-Phillips said. "They say that's a good team. Today was not the most enjoyable game but the boys stuck with it and defended well. We kept them down to only a few chances and we came out with a win in a tough place."
Head Coach Chris Armas, spoke highly of his club and touched on how experience playing in tough environments helped the team pull the win out.
"I think it shows we are a real team committed to defending starting with Bradley Wright-Phillips," Armas said. "It shows that the team has a good mentality and listen, it's understanding what road games look like. Still we can improve in that area, and again, getting frustrated. I think overall the group understands the experiences we have been through with U.S. Open Cup, experiences with the Champions League, playing in some tough environments, I think has helped this team understand that those games maybe feel like."
