The New York Red Bulls earned a point on the road, with a 1-1 draw at Orlando City on Friday night. Bradley Wright-Phillips (pictured above) got his third goal of the season for the Red Bulls.
The Red Bulls extended their unbeaten streak to three games, after winning their prior two at home, including a win over Orlando City on April 24.The Red Bulls are now 3-6-1 on the season.
Red Bulls Head Coach Jesse Marsch said of the draw, “We came down here for three [points], but then you start playing the game. It’s not easy on the turf, and the crowd is incredible. Just an incredible energy to the crowd. I think it’s called the Ruckus, it feels like a ruckus, okay? Once its one-one and you’re in a difficult game you’re just trying to figure out ways to walk out with points. We have three unbeaten games in a row and it keeps the momentum going for us, and in some ways we are dissatisfied not to walk away with three [points], I think that it was a hard earned point and well deserved we can walk away with our heads held high and keep the momentum going.”
The Red Bulls got on the board early, as Bradley Wright-Phillips scored on a feed from Sacha Kljestan in the 19th minute. It was Kljestan’s sixth assist of the season.
The Red Bulls held their lead into the second half, when Kevin Molino tied it for Orlando City in the 67th minute.
Marsch said of the game, “We knew we were going to get Orlando’s best. They threw a lot at us and they were very aggressive and wanted to win a lot of battles at mid-field and it so it made for a very physical game. Then the referee had a hard time managing it not to say it wasn’t an easy one to manage and a hard time doing it but overall that’s what good games are about. Sometimes it’s not all about the beautiful fútbol, it’s about digging it out and fighting your way through the game and then if you have a couple plays, it’s about making them and preventing the other team from making them.”
Marsch said of Kljestan, “He’s very good. His ability to dictate the game and see plays and setup attacking players and find gaps in the mid field and meet the demands physically of how we ask him to play, to pressure to run, to win battles and head balls, he’s the perfect number ten for us. He really is. As high of expectations as I’ve had for him he’s exceeded them. I think that even when every team plays us and they know how important Sacha is, he still manages to have great games and dictate and control the game. Obviously the play made to setup the goal was a very good play, thought he had a lot of good plays in the game. A very important guy for us.”
Marsch said of the game, “I think once they got the goal there was a little time in there where it was back and forth, and when you’re on the road you don’t want a game that goes back and forth. As much as we tried to play up the field we felt at that time it was more important to secure the back line and not give the anymore opportunities with Kaka and [Cyle] Larin. What was interesting was making a defensive sub actually helped us grab a hold of the game and gain a little bit more possession. Then we got the red card and we were a little unlucky with Felipe [Martins]’s shot hitting [Gonzalo] Veron that we weren’t able to walk away with the win. Overall I thought our guys managed the game well, we made the decisions to put the right guys on the field and I thought that the subs, when they came on, had really good performances.”
New York Red Bulls Forward Bradley Wright-Phillips said of the game,”You obviously know it is good coming down to the Citrus Bowl, it’s a tough place to come. They are a good team too but it’s difficult to play on their turf. The ref had some tough decisions, it’s just a tough game all around everything was tough. In a day or two I’ll be happy with the play.”
Wright-Phillips said of his goal, “It was the only thing I did today. I think the defenders played me well. It was hard to get any room, any space, and it was the only thing I did. I’m just happy it went in. I just tried to hit the target. Great ball by Sacha [Kljestan]”
On the Red Bulls momentum the past 3 games, Wright-Phillips said,
“Yes that’s what we talked about between ourselves. We wanted to carry out this form; these wins mean nothing if we are just winning and losing and then losing and winning. It’s good to be on a nice unbeaten run, because you know the beginning of the season wasn’t all that great. So this is nice.”
New York Red Bulls Midfielder Sacha Kljestan said of the game, “The environment is hostile, the Orlando City fans are great there behind their team the whole time while putting pressure on the referee and the other team and that’s what you want form a home crowd. Difficult team to play against at their place and to leave 1-1 is a pretty fair result.”
Kljestan said of assisting on Wright-Phillips’ goal, “He made a great run and I put it in front of Bradley [Wright-Phillips] and he did the rest.”
Aurelien Collin made his debut with the Red Bulls after he was acquired a week ago from Orlando City.
Collin was paired at center back on defense with Ronald Zubar, and he said of their chemistry, “We understand each other and I tried to stay as simple as I could while strong in defense. I think we did a good job and we have a lot to work on but I think the team adopted me perfectly.”
Collin said of the Orlando City fan base, “A lot of love from the fans, it’s always fun to play here. Very emotional that I had to control my emotions and the love that I received and focus on the game. Most of the league already knows how it is to play at Orlando City and we got prepared.”
Marsch said of Collin’s debut, “I thought he looked good. The yellow card’s not a yellow card, he doesn’t even touch [Kevin Molino]. Molino falls on him. But that means that for the rest of the game he has to be very cautious. We know that a lot of his strengths are his aggressiveness and desire and competitiveness. I thought he contained himself and controlled his aggression in a good way in the second half didn’t put himself in many dangerous positions. It was a good first game for him, we’ll look at some video, and we’ll help him understand how to adjust certain things. We knew he was going to be up for the challenge, he’s that kind of guy and I think he’s going to be a great addition.”
Wright-Phillips said of Collin, “Very tough, very tough. He handed it well, true professional. I think the fans were great to him. They gave him a great welcome. He was fully into the task. He got me proud today. I was happy for him because it can be hard, the emotion can get on top of you.”