For the first time in the club’s history, the New York Red Bulls have advanced to the knockout stages of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.
Managing a 0-0 draw with Antigua GFC on Tuesday night, the Red Bulls did just enough to earn their spot in the quarterfinals despite less-than-favorable conditions at the Estadio Mateo Flores.
“It’s a big moment for our club, a big moment for our team, and I’m really proud of our guys,” head coach Jesse Marsch said after the match. “I think they showed a lot of character and proved what we’ve been all about.”
On the heels of a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Montreal Impact at the weekend, the Red Bulls had little time to recover from their playoff-clinching performance before jetting off to Guatemala City.
To cope, head coach Jesse Marsch deployed a familiar, rotated lineup featuring the likes of Justin Bilyeu and Aaron Long once again, as Shaun Wright-Phillips figured to be the only change from their last SCCL matchup with Alianza FC on September 15, replacing Alex Muyl in the starting lineup.
On a waterlogged pitch, the Red Bulls understandably struggled to carry out their usual, free flowing attack, carving out but a handful of genuine scoring opportunities on the night. More importantly, however, the visitors managed to keep Antigua at bay with some considerable help from captain Luis Robles between the sticks.
“Given the conditions—it rained really hard here in Guatemala City—we knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Marsch added. “It wasn’t going to about soccer; it was going to be about winning battles and loose balls and 50-50s.
“We were 14-for-14 in terms of guys who were fighting out there, clawing for every inch and doing everything that they could to make sure we would get the result.”
It was far from a pretty affair, but the Red Bulls will hardly mind. Emerging from Group F with a table-topping eight points, New York adhered to the tried-and-true blueprint for SCCL success: win your home games and manage at least a point on the road. They did just that, earning the full six points at Red Bull Arena while picking up draws in both El Salvador and Guatemala.
Over the course of their four group stage matches, the stingy New York defense was breached just once, conceding their lone goal in a 1-1 result at the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador.
“It was an incredible performance by the group. I’ve never been more proud to be a part of this team,” midfielder Sean Davis said. “On the field, there was so much energy, desire and determination from the guys. The game could have went another 30 minutes for us; we just had so much fire.”
The 2016 portion of their SCCL campaign has come to a close, but the Red Bulls will return to action in a two-leg tie some time in late February of 2017. Their opponent has yet to be determined, as group winners and seeding remain in question. The final group stage matches of the competition will wrap up on October 20.
“It’s a huge moment for the club, and we’ve gotten it done early in our season,” Marsch continued. “Now with a month remaining before the playoffs, we don’t have any other games in the way, so we can be ready to push with one goal in mind.
