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NEW YORK RED BULLS MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 11, 2019

Chris Armas

Harrison, New Jersey

Revolution - 3, Red Bulls - 2

Q. Can you talk about the match tonight?
CHRIS ARMAS: It was a strange one because especially the way we started the match. Before we know it's 1-0 in the first minute but to be quite honest with you in terms of the way we try to play, with our pressing and for sure our counter pressing it looked like a Red Bull team and a Red Bull performance that we were in control. And if you really think about it of course it's the first goal that we give up, a ball behind, which we knew was coming all night long we know that's what they do, that's what they emphasize, and then we see the last goal. So we didn't feel threatened most of the night, just some long balls -- and again it's, that's, it's always this randomness that gets thrown into it. But for a long stretch there we felt pretty good and then for sure to be able to bring on Danny Royer and Kaku and Marc Rzatkowski, we felt really good, so...

Q. Did you feel like there were stretches where you could have extended the lead but then you just didn't manage to do it. Were you getting worried at that point, we're letting them hang in this game and it could end up costing us?
CHRIS ARMAS: We didn't have a sense of worry. We had things under control. I think it was clear, if you look at any big chances they had down the stretch of regulation, just some free kicks wide. They had no real answers in the run of play. But they kept probing with balls behind and most of it seemed harmless, even that one where Amro gets isolated, but, look, they make a play, you give them credit on the night because they make a few plays. Maybe one more than we did, right. So was it for lack of chances? No. Lack of shots? No. We out shot them. And we're up a man. Which sometimes lives get harder but you have to have patience you have to have ideas you have to understand that the spaces are wide, but, yeah.

Q. Alex's PK, it looked like he took it well and they made a good save. How much does the game kind of change a little bit on that where they're still in it instead of being now two goals down?
CHRIS ARMAS: Well, you have a chance to go up 3-1, it changes things for sure. It goes in it's 3-1. Maybe it's done. But you never know at that point. They get another goal, we can only talk about if you talk about that play it's a big one but there's probably 50 others in the match that we can be better on. So listen, we asked for guys to be courageous in terms of a penalty. We train that skill and they do, we worked on PK's, Alex has been really good at those, gets it on frame, sticks to his corner, and goal keeper makes a save. So there's no more comment on that. I mean this happens from the very best players in the world.

Q. You already get a sense that Bruce is having his influence on that team. He's had them for a few weeks now, but kind of see maybe his fingerprints already on that team?
CHRIS ARMAS: Well I think we all know that Bruce Arena is a winner. I played for him for eight years on the national team so I know the messages in that locker room, I know how he can motivate, I know how he knows how to build a staff and a team and have a real print on culture and how the people work and show up every day. But Bruce has a way of managing and getting guys to stand taller than they actually are. So, yeah, I think we can see with the same players much of the same players, he's getting big results. At L.A., here at our place, it wasn't an easy game, but they figured out away. So Bruce is a mentor of mine, I've learned a lot from him, and I'm seeing the prints already taking place.

Q. What's the message to the team the last two to three weeks as you prepare for your next MLS match?
CHRIS ARMAS: Listen, there's no, the message is that there's tiny messages every single day that we get back to work and we keep pushing and use these experiences to learn. But that was said already. I think what we take from this is it's another reminder that to be the last team standing it's a fine line, it's why many athletes and guys don't get there. And that pyramid at the very top, there's details, execution, skills, tactic, togetherness, sticking together in tough moments, sticking, game plans understanding -- we have talked about it -- little things that win you games. And there will be some things that lose you games. And you get better at one and better at minimizing. And then we talk about on the inside what all those little things are. So there's no, we're not mad at anyone, we, we're together, but it's a clear reminder that to get to that top, to get to that place that all of us at the New York Red Bulls want to get to. Yeah, it's not easy, we don't want it easy. Because when we get there it's going to be worth it. But we understand exactly where we are and how we're going to use these experiences from Philadelphia last week to tonight to Championship League and every day we use those experiences to get better for tomorrow.

Q. In a vacuum this is the second game in four days you're missing several guys, obviously away, but this is going into the season one of the objectives that you set out, the Open Cup. Having not being able now to carry out that objective what is the feeling from your perspective how much does this loss hurt?
CHRIS ARMAS: After the Philadelphia game the guys knew the first thing on my mind was this game. It's gone already. Seriously. We'll learn from this but it's a shame, I mean I don't ask too many questions about it, but it's a shame that we had to play this game on short rest. I don't understand exactly the detail of it, broadcasting, where New England can come in completely fresh. It doesn't make it easier for us. But we pushed hard tonight and I thought we put ourselves in a chance to win the match. And again, it was a Red Bull performance. We were aggressive all night and that was good to see. But, yeah, it's, we'll move forward, we'll move together and it's gone, like after the press conference here we get together there's a few days off coming up for a lot of work being put in from staff and players and there's a trophy left and we won't talk too much about that, just every day getting better.

Q. Does it mean more though, it's like this being a missed opportunity, obviously you mentioned for you it's similar compared to the Philadelphia game it's behind you, but in a sense it's more than the Philadelphia game because it's obviously the Cup.
CHRIS ARMAS: Well listen, think about, to get to the playoffs how much work from pre-season to September this year you have to do to get to that point. And then there's like a little Open Cup at the end of that. Four or five games to the final. So, yeah, now you're already there. So if you can gain momentum, win an opportunity at home, a place that we have a lot of experience winning here, a lot of the players, yeah, it's a missed opportunity. But that's what it is. There will be one team that's left holding that trophy and then listen I'm proud of the team the way they showed up tonight, I would be, I can say that straight like we showed up tonight. We went down a goal early and we were pretty good on the night and we put ourselves in a spot to win and it's, that's the shame of it and that's what hurts on the inside, but it's going to bring us together. And of course we take hard looks and we just learn. Specifically we'll learn how to win those games.

Q. Can you talk about what being a man up, especially throughout most of, throughout all of extra time and after they took that goal lead they locked down their defense. Can you talk about the difficulties that might come up with being, you mentioned it a little bit before?
CHRIS ARMAS: Well one of the dangers and difficulties is when you lose bad balls, right? So what does the other -- understanding what the opposition is trying to do is important and it's pretty clear, 4-4-1. Bunker in, tight this way, and hope that we're going to force balls or have a few turnovers. And then catch us on the counter. That's what we did against Atlanta. Pretty clear. And we make a play against Atlanta and we saw how hard it was for Atlanta. They had two shots on goal in the 90 minutes that day. And now tonight the message was to keep probing wide, have some patience, if it's not on one side come back around, rest the fence the way we say, pin them in, and keep having some patience with a sense of urgency looking for some advantages in wide areas. And to be mindful of where you can get hurt. So that's what we had to, that's what we were concerned with. Now you just got to keep making plays. They're fighting to get a goal, they're bunkering in. There's little moments, there's crosses that we just didn't hit in time, we just hit it over, there's ones where Tom Barlow almost gets it, Cristian gets a chance, there's some quick play there, there's little moments in there, there's, you just have to make a play when it's not so easy because there's not a lot of space.

Q. You mentioned that they didn't really do a whole lot, but they did have a few, it seemed almost like late in that game in regulation you were flirting a little bit with danger where they had a corner, they had a few free kicks and I don't know if they maybe gained some momentum where they were able to get that late equalizer. But did you kind of think things were maybe starting to tilt their way where they could get that equalizer?
CHRIS ARMAS: No, we didn't feel that way, we didn't. We felt like we were -- we felt and I think when we look back we were in control, they didn't have a lot of answers down the stretch. They didn't. And if you think about the goal they scored, it's against the run of play, it's -- and you give them credit for it -- and it wasn't anything that wasn't in our game plan defensively. Understanding pressure on the ball's important and when there is, what does that mean and when there isn't what does that mean for our back line. So we didn't have any sense of urgency, other than, yeah, we're going to close this game out. We had fresh legs on the field and we, you just have to execute a little bit better and that's that. So we didn't feel a big shift that way. Of course the opposition's going to take a few more chances and risks so they're always going to be a little dangerous in transition. But, yeah, we felt like we were in control there and I think I'm pretty accurate in thinking that and then it's against the run of play.

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