Club Tijuana was going to come out pressing for a pair of goals and the New York Red Bulls knew it. Tijuana dominated possession early and kept the pressure on and in New York’s end to start the match.
Xolos capitalized in the 10th minute, scoring an all-important away goal.
“We started a bit tense,” Luis Robles said. “All the circumstances – dealing with the game – maybe it had us rattled a little bit. We knew that the first 20 minutes for them was going to be vital, that they had to get something.”
In the 23rd minute, Robles made a fingertip save to adjust the trajectory of a ball that was destined for the back of the net.
“I actually think that maybe one of the things that helped was Luis’ massive save,” Head Coach Jesse Marsch said. “I think that that was like, ‘OK, that’s right, we have Luis in goal. We’re fine.’”
Minutes later, the Red Bulls cashed in a goal of their own, going end-to-end on a counterattack to even the score.
“Then, obviously, getting the goal, I think settled the game down, as well,” Marsch said. “We’re going to learn from this. We’re going to remind ourselves that we have to make sure that we’re really up for it when we start even though we were playing a good team and they’re going to throw everything at us.”
That resiliency shone through, according to the head coach.
“It was good to see guys not crumble. They stuck together,” Marsch said. “A couple of guys you could see were grabbing the team by the neck a little bit and saying ‘All right, come on, let’s keep moving.’”
Robles, as Captain, said he will use this match as a learning experience – both for himself, personally, and for the club as a whole.
“The first 15 minutes were intense and I think, as a leader, I’m going to take it upon myself to figure out how we can come out with a better approach where we can find a way to neutralize some of that tension because it is a big match and find a way to come out a little stronger,” Robles said.
- IN FOCUS: Red Bulls vs. Club Tijuana
Bouncing back from a tough start helped show the team’s true character.
“There is a resiliency within this group,” Robles said. “There’s a very deep belief that we can accomplish big things.”
