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NEW YORK RED BULLS MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 27, 2019

Chris Armas

Harrison, New Jersey

Red Bulls - 1, FC Cincinnati - 0

Q. How does it feel to get the win at home?
CHRIS ARMAS: Feels great. Feels great. Especially at home. To reward our fans on a really special night, Autism Awareness. There was good energy in the building. It was loud. You know, you see how hard the guys work every day, and again, on Autism Awareness Night, extra special for Mark and his wife, Kim, their daughter, Julia. So really special in so many ways to get three points.

Q. Why was Bradley not in the 18-man roster today?
CHRIS ARMAS: He had a little bit of a soft tissue in the groin. We decided to be cautious. Didn't want to be responsible -- yeah, that was all.

Q. Connor is a guy who does a lot of the dirty work or is kind of the unsung type of hero for you. To have him step up in that way and score that goal, what did you think of that? And also, that collective team goal, it was a really well-worked goal. What do you think?
CHRIS ARMAS: Connor has been around this club for a long time, and he understands the way we play and he meets the demands of what we do. We ask a lot of him on a night like tonight. Right, playing in left -- we often put him in tough spots.

I think he makes it on because he understands. He competes. He's a real guy. He's a real player. He's a guy that the team and I can count on, and I think when we look around the field tonight, you saw a lot of that going on, and then of course he gets rewarded with a great goal with left foot. So thrilled for him. It's a big goal for the club.

Q. Congrats on the win. The three center guys -- wonder if you can talk about that?
CHRIS ARMAS: Yeah, we've been talking about making progress and we've been talking about, you know, what other teams are doing to us as of late, and then can we be better in all ways.

So knowing them, how Cincinnati, what we thought would play, two blocks of four that we ultimately have to break down, that's exactly what we thought, and just having a little more width on the night with our wing guys we thought could help unlock, and it opened up in the first half. You saw a bunch of crosses, which they defended well.

You know, looking for little ways to spark the team, a different formation, comfort with the center backs and the big guy in the back with long balls that teams might do to us helps us onset pieces. Amro has been training really well all year, held up really well against Orlando.

And listen, that 3-3-3-1, 5-4-3-1, however you want to draw it up, whether we have the ball or not, it does put our guys in slightly different spaces and that could be refreshing.

So we'd say it worked, 1-0, first shutout and a really important win.

Q. You've had games here where things weren't going your way on the night, where you wouldn't get a bounce. Tonight, you did. Did you start to feel like as you start -- how things played out, finally this season, this is a game where things were bouncing your way. Did you get that sense as the game went on?
CHRIS ARMAS: I don't get the sense -- the senses, I'm looking at the game. I'm watching the game. I know that any time a team starts puts -- up top and are just dumping balls in your box and taking some pressure, you have to just get it done, and right, like the breaks goes our way.

Well, what does that even mean? It's hard to -- is that luck? It's hard to talk about this. They should actually hit the ball a little less softer, it goes -- we've been talking about that the other way.

They have some flurries, some counterattacks, some giveaways by us, some set pieces, and the night, I don't know, it's one or two shots on goal, but yes, close ones.

So maybe there is such a thing, and, you know, it held up for us. I would say that we put the right effort in and we made it happen tonight. It didn't depend on anything but sticking to it, getting it done, and then you can probably talk about a few plays at the other end that maybe didn't go our way.

Q. Congratulations on the win. Second half starts, Cincinnati -- over the course of the second half, three members of FC's back line got yellow cards and started putting a more physical game and space started opening up. Can you talk about how your team responded to that? And how much of a signing bonus --
CHRIS ARMAS: How much of a signing bonus -- again, however you want to talk about that. Our guys got it done. I'm really proud of them.

Look, when you're traveling, and a game like Cincinnati, yeah, you could start throwing a little more at the opposition, so they did that, more guys on our back line. And teams that are built on transition have fast, dynamic guys that can take you on, and you finish a game it's a natural push. It was a natural push. Make a change and move Marc Rzatkowski back next to Sean Davis, more like a 5-4-1, and if we are a little bit sharpener transition the other way, we could have caught him a few times. That's always the counter act to that counterbalancing, what they are doing; that we win the ball, can we keep it at times, so we are not defending the entire time. But we did think about trying to control spaces differently as that went on.

Q. You got a goal from an unexpected source, but goals have been very scarce. Are you concerned about the lack of goal-scoring from more expected sources, and if any tweaks come to maybe try to loosen up the goal-scoring?
CHRIS ARMAS: Yeah, look, we -- yeah, our wingback scores a goal. On a given night -- we could have pushed the game that way, too. That change when we started differently -- but we thought that, again, against a 4-4 block, those guys would be attackers.

So it wasn't so unexpected in terms of what we thought and where the spaces would be. We all could see that. But yes, he's a wingback. It's a defender. And yeah, we want to create more chances and we work hard at that. Every day we work hard at our habits when we defend in transition and attack, and then when we have the ball, can we unlock teams; can we help with ideas; can we get on the move to challenge back lines; can we slow down in different moments. There's a lot that goes into creating and scoring goals.

Not concerned because we created chances tonight, and our team has always scored goals. So I'm not concerned. We got to see what Brian White is all about. He does a lot of work. So we have another vital piece, we've said that, and now we know we can play him and Brad. It's another really good option.

Q. Can you talk about the impact that Alex had on the game and why he was the choice over Amir for tonight?
CHRIS ARMAS: Well, look, I think we in some ways, like Connor, what you see is what you get with Alex. He understands how we play. He has certain qualities with the ball that showed up tonight. His tactical understanding of what was going to be required tonight; the engine required on the night, but yeah, sometimes wide, sometimes rotating interior alongside Sean Davis.

But I think what makes Alex maybe different and special for us is his will to win. We think there's a lot of competitors out there in this league and we think he's a winner. You know, he's not just a guy that fights and runs around. He does a lot more than that. He continues to grow. But I think, you know, when you see him late in the game, as tired as he is, making the plays that he's making, in and around the defensive box, getting the other way, I think that his value showed up on the night.

And look, we've talked about our roster. We've talked about certain nights, some guys get the call over others. It's always a difficult decision as guys are healthy. So yeah, that's what went into the player selection with Alex.

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