NEW YORK RED BULLS MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 9, 2022

Gerhard Struber

Press Conference

Montreal 2, NY Red Bulls 1

GERHARD STRUBER: Hello, everyone. Yeah, we have a different expectation today, and right now, I'm looking very disappointed faces in the dressing room. The level of the game, what we did or what we produced today was not enough.

We are not sharp enough over the whole game time to bring the points home and we start, I think, well, and in our typical way, I think the first 25 minutes, 30 minutes, we was very sharp. We win many moments. We have good transition moments. We have I think control in this time and we have to, yeah, to be clear in some transition moments and be more and more hungry to come in the opponent's box. I think in some moments, we play backwards, and this is not what I expect.

We have to play forward. We have to sometimes -- we don't use the open space with good forward runnings. We have in some moments not the right decision and also not the right behavior to crash completely the mindset from the opponent and today, I think, I feel, Montréal is ready to lose but we are not ready to go on the personal limit.

And this game show me one more time very, very clear, when some players means that with 80, 90 percent performance is enough to win, then I think we -- our learning curve go up.

And I think today, we have a big learning when we have not the right intensity over the whole game time and we are not hungry to do everything for a win, then we cannot win games. This shows me today the game, we are especially in the second half, we have not the clear chances. We have not the right hunger to come in transition moments in overload situations. We have not always the rest defense and organization in the last nine, and also in the sixes, we miss -- we miss in some moments that we have in every game a sprint event, and today, I cannot feel that. And also from the tactical side today we are not always sharp enough to create the overload in the box and do everything to win this game.

Q. Obviously on the first goal was kind of a repeat of the goal in Minnesota where the team struggled with the second ball off of a set piece. Curious your thoughts on that? And more probably strangely, the goal, the second goal, where Carlos Coronel comes out of his goal to try and clear, is that something that you guys have worked on to try and have him sweep play like that and just your thoughts on what happened on both goals?

GERHARD STRUBER: I think for the last goal, we lose completely the orientation in the penalty area. I think in these moments, we have to be clear who is a dangerous player, and we have a main marking program, yeah, but we lose completely the dangerous player in these moments.

And second goal, of course we need sometimes Carlos high, especially when we play so high, but this was a moment, yeah, a slapstick moment. I think Carlos give us the last few months in so many times an outstanding safety feeling, and today in this moment, yeah, he lose a little bit his orientation and it was not clear for him.

But in the end, a lucky punch for Montréal; a hit in the face for us. This can't be happening. This was today, over the whole game, not the biggest issue.

The biggest issue today was that we are not sharp enough to create chances in a home game what we need normally. I feel sorry for the fans that we cannot create the three points. I think I have completely different expectation today, also my boys, and yeah, right now everyone is very disappointed with a result like that.

Q. This was a rough one of losses, the one glaring thing that I see is missed chances offensively. Is this something that you and your team, your coaching staff have to work on because it seemed there was a lot of opportunities, a lot of pressing, a lot of pushing but no goals. You mentioned during the press event at the training center, you said that Montréal was a tough team. Does this loss validate that feeling?

GERHARD STRUBER: I think of course Montréal is a tough team, and I have respect for that team. But today, this was not a tough team. We have to win this game with a tough performance, and we missed it. We missed that in some important parts of the game, and for 30 minutes, I'm 100 percent happy with the boys.

But the game is not 30 minutes; it's 90 minutes. In many other ways, we are not always sharp what we want, and I think this is today the biggest question for me, why we are not 100 percent ready and why we are not left everything on the field like the games before.

I think we have to be very quick ready for our typical style of the play and this needs intensity and this needs to be on the field, and we have no time to cry right now, yeah. We have to look forward with all of our power, and also, I see in the training how we score, how we create chances, also in the last few games, our expectation of goals is very, very high. One of the highest in the league.

But today, I missed it. I think we have to come back very quick in our normal mode that we pick up also at home the points, what we need.

Next week we have another chance against Dallas, also a very good opponent, and then I think everyone has the chance to come on his personal limit. And always when we did it in the past, then normally, we come home with points.

Q. You mentioned that the team wasn't sharp enough today. Seemed like in the first half, you were pressing and creating chances but in the second half it seemed like they were limiting your opportunities and the chances you did get where the shots were being taken from farther and farther away from their goal; that just like a lack of sharpness up front? Is that something they were doing? What do you think changed from the first half to the second half and getting good chances even though you weren't able to finish them off?

GERHARD STRUBER: I think this was also in some moments the decision what we take. It was not necessary in some moments to shoot from 20 meters, especially when we have in the halfway line the tens completely open and we can play with the tens, and then with the cross ball in the end, we have a higher chance to score.

This was in some moments the problem, and also that we bring not in every situation when we come in transitions, also from buildup, we have always many numbers in the opponent's box. I think this is -- yeah, this was in the end not enough. And on the same team, in the end, I think 88 or 89 minutes, a double-pass with Tom Barlow, and a clear contact from the goalkeeper on him, my coaching team told me now it's a clear penalty. I must see this again. Would be one more time crazy when the referee and also the video assistant was in this situation not clear but very important; that we not win today was on us and our responsibility, and we was not sharp like a knife. This is my biggest message on the boys. This is what we need and what we want, very quick back here in our stadium that everyone, yeah, gives everything from the first until the last second to win a game.

Q. I want to ask specifically on Omir's performance today. He was charging, he was almost leading the offense in the first half, and even throughout the game as the tempo slowed down a little bit, he was still creating space, creating chances, can you just talk on how he played especially today for you guys?

GERHARD STRUBER: I think in many moments, I was happy with him. He was very sharp. He was sharp in the first half with very good pressing moments. Also he come sometimes from behind, he steal the ball. He was quick on the ball. He has good ideas. He was creative. He was I think very difficult to play against him with quick moves, and he is score ability.

Yeah, I think Omir made in the last few months very big steps in the right direction, and I think also in the second half in some moments, he has much space to dribble and to drive with the ball and pick up the tempo and move. I missed this a little bit in the second half, the same sharpness like in the first half, to come also with him in the opponent's box with good chances.

I think every single player has to reflect the situation with our game and we have to be very critical with our selves, what can we do better to win against Montréal on this level today. Yeah, it's normally a duty to win at home and Montréal is on this level.

Q. Just a question about some of your substitutions, obviously Patryk Klimala and Luquinhas both come off in the second half. Are these fitness motivated or tactical? These were players you expected to be somewhat key to the team generating chances close in the game and you decided to go with other options late.

GERHARD STRUBER: Yeah, also very sad that I have to bring out Luke even I can't say in these moments but we have a load plan and we have to be careful with him. A player like him, I need him normally the whole game time but this is the situation with the load and what we have to give him step-by-step and that he go not with injury.

With Patryk, ways in many moments satisfied with him, yeah, but also I think in this moment, I feel a little bit that we bring more power against the ball, and also in transitions a fresh player like Tom Barlow, and this was more a tactical situation and is that we have in the end yeah, Tom a little bit higher and a fresh Tom helps normally always.

Q. You alluded earlier that you wondered why your team was not 100 percent. With FC Dallas coming in next week, what is it going to take for your team to reach that level because especially after this afternoon's game, you showed that it was unacceptable. What's it going to take and what's the direction you want to push your team to achieve that level of success?

GERHARD STRUBER: Yeah, I think it's clear that we have a tactical analysis in which moment in transition, we have to play quick, in which moment we have to drive and dribble with the ball and we have sometimes I think a misunderstanding in some moments when we put drive with the ball, we played early, I think the setup in these moments was not always great. And also that we bring also in transitions the ball far side more, more in our game that we involved it a little bit more. I think this is from the transition side.

And the buildup side, it's more that we have more discipline to recycle, more patience to recycle; that they move more, and we find more space and more control in buildups and create overload moments with a little bit more time to come in the attacking area, and then we have more numbers in the last line.

In pressing moments, I think to be compact over the whole game, I think we have 35 minutes in the first half and then we have 20 minutes in the second half. We are compact. We are very close together. It's very difficult against us to create chances. I cannot see so many clear chances today from Montréal. But on the same time, it's that we stay closer together and find always together the right moment to press. And I think in some moments, especially second half, we lose a little bit the synchronized defending structure and the moments to go.

I think, yeah, we have many to do, but yeah, a team with this age, and this is not the excuse, the age, but very -- a team with many new players, with players they have to understand the league, what's going on in this league, and I think this was, yeah, some learnings today from many single players what we have to do that we come from the intensity and from the attitude, with the effort every game on our limit that we can win points.