New York Red Bulls Head Coach Jesse Marsch
On bringing on Sacha Kljestan late in the game:
Yeah, we’re trying to make calculated decisions on how to use our roster the right way and go after this tournament in a big way but also make sure that we continue to push hard in the league. We put some different bodies on the field today and it’s good for them to get some big experiences...As the game went on we started to gain a little bit more control and then obviously the ability to put on some good players, put on Sacha means hopefully they can help make a play. Obviously a huge play to make at the end of the game and a huge three points for us.
On building character for the stretch run:
I would agree that it wasn’t quite as tight as what we normally look like in terms of the tactics and approach to how we play, that’s going to be normal sometimes when you put some new faces on the field. The resolves to stay after the game, listen there are some moments where they have some set pieces, some corner kicks and they’re trying to push us, but our guys stayed with it, stayed after it...We talked about when we are in these games, these tight situations, to not back down and to go after the game the right way, and they absolutely did that.
On Luis Robles’ play tonight:
Listen, Luis is just so reliable back there, trustworthy, he does the right things, makes big saves, always alert. It’s really fortunate for this club to have him here. You have good goalkeepers and you count on him to make big saves, that’s their job. I thought he went above and beyond tonight and the fact that he made some of those big saves kept us in the game and allowed us at the end to make one play to get the big goal.
On his substitution strategy:
The whole time we were planning on Aurelien [Collin] only playing between 55 and 70, wound up being 62. We knew that we kind of had to balance how we used our back line to make sure we were ready to go for Sunday. I was thinking that Brad was going to be the third sub, but when Justin Bilyeu went down we had to adjust from there. I thought Kemar [Lawrence] came in and helped the game in a big way too, just like he did down there. If that wouldn’t have happened you would have seen Brad [Wright-Phillips] get in.
New York Red Bulls Midfielder Sacha Kljestan
On what his team displayed by grinding out the win:
Yeah still some young guys getting some minutes and getting some of this important experience for the future. Some guys stepped up, Gonzalo Veron had a pretty good game, was pretty dangerous all night. To be able to give some guys a rest like Bradley Wright-Phillips is important tonight, but yeah good resolve in the guys to just stick with it and keep plugging, plugging, plugging, and finally get the goal.
On being close to winning the group:
Well it’s a good start to the Champions League Group Stage, we’ll take maximum points at home which is what you can ask for. We put ourselves in a good position to make it to the next round so going down to Guatemala a tie gets us through. It’s important, we wanted to make the quarterfinals, that was an important goal at the beginning of the season so right now we have one foot in the door and I’m pretty happy.
On what he saw from the sideline as a substitute that he could add upon entering the match:
I probably only touched the ball ten times tonight, because they made it a point of being very tight on the guy, whether it was me, Felipe, or Sean Davis who was playing in that spot, the spaces were a little wide. Even when I came on I told the guys, ‘Don’t force the ball into me unless it’s open’ because that’s exactly what they want, they want to clog the middle and hit on the counterattack. Play the ball out wide and move it in from there. I just tried to be patient, a couple of chances came towards the end and fortunately one of them went in.
On the difference between tonight’s performance versus their initial road match at Alianza:
Well in El Salvador, I think they had a little bit more of the ball. I think tonight we pushed them back a lot where in El Salvador they had more possession and a few more chances.
New York Red Bulls Midfielder Felipe
On being able to fight until the end:
It’s all about mentality. I think the mentality in the second half, especially when Sacha [Kljestan] came in - we kept pushing, we stuck with the game, and Luis [Robles] had great saves and kept us in the game. But in the end, [it] was beautiful to see the reaction, to be able to finish the game and score a goal in the end of the game. I think that’s the right mentality going into the game against Toronto. We fully believe in that.
On staying mentally tough:
I think we’re learning from our mistakes and we are able to stick with the game, and especially in the end we scored a good goal and that’s what we are about now.
On having the physical strength to keep playing full matches:
That’s a secret. [laughs] No, it’s doing the right things: eating well, sleeping well, and doing everything you can to keep focus and especially be strong mentally. I think the most important thing is [to] always be strong mentally. That’s what makes a difference. And my will to win, my will to help the team, makes me stronger every day to get in the game and push as hard as I can.
New York Red Bulls Midfielder Tyler Adams
On the victory:
Yeah, you know, really big three points. It puts us at the top of the group right now, going into a game in two weeks from now in Guatemala. So it will be a tough task but we have a deep squad and everyone contributed today, so that was good.
On getting some games in the midfield:
Yeah it definitely makes me very comfortable. Obviously playing with Sean Davis, which I played a lot with in preseason, and then Felipe who’s helped me a lot; a leader on the team and definitely a great professional to learn from. It’s helped me a lot so I’m very comfortable and whenever I can get minutes out there obviously I’m trying to prove myself each and every day, so it felt really good.
On the challenge to earn the result:
Yeah so Alianza was a great team in transition and definitely made us work on our rest defense and see what we needed to face. They had some good individual players up top, obviously you could see they had some breakaways but our transition and our attack I think Gonzalo [Veron] and Mike [Grella], Sean [Davis], Felipe, they all contributed in a good way. Getting crosses in the box and doing good in sticking to the philosophy of how we play. So all in all I think we created chances and obviously Sacha [Kljestan] got one at the end and that’s all that matters that we got that one goal.
