NEW YORK RED BULLS MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 20, 2024

Sandro Schwarz

Press Conference

New York Red Bulls 3, Cincinnati 1

Q. In previous games, we've seen the team get off to a slow start but in this game, things were really moving and they were able to get in behind. How did you feel about how the team played in the opening frame?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: It was good. It was very well. It was also our match plan to be directly active from the beginning, and in our pressing, to find the good moment in our pressing to start, today more in a 4-3-2-1 that we control more the six space from the opponent, and this was the reason Lewis against the ball comes more from the ten space, and yeah, it was very good. A lot of good moments in transition, and then we scored then, as well. In these moments, it's then also necessary when you have good moments in the game that you then also punish the opponent with a goal. Yeah, it was the right moment for these goals, and the second half, as well, with our goals, and it was very good performance, very good behavior for the whole team.

Q. There's been a lot of pressure from the fans and media specifically about bringing in new players. How about Ronald Donkor and Wike Carmona in the midfield today?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, I would say it was very good, both six position today, and especially then, also, when you make some mistakes, but you come back every time in the game and not the head is down or something like that. This was great behavior from both six positions, and it's good to see.

Now it's good that we have this break, as well, with our injuries, and to have now 41 points after 25 games, I think it's a good result, and now we are eight games, I think, unbeaten, 12 games unbeaten at home. It's good. It's good to have this break to have this feeling, as well, at the end. Because now we have four weeks, this next game in Charlotte, and then two days off to prepare for League's Cup.

Q. I wanted to ask you on the message to your team with now League's Cup about to start and the League going into a break, going into that kind of competition with a positive result, and an update if you have one on Cam Harper's status.

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, first, for us, it was very important in this short week with these three games in a row. It was very important to get this feeling, and then it's also good to have these results with our supporters. Yeah, this is great today. This is what we need.

It's good to have this feeling now, and now, yeah, the message is first of all to come down two days and then to prepare for League's Cup. Leagues Cup is I think you play three weeks, four and a half weeks like that, and it's the shortest way to win the title to be honest. Normally you have to fight one year for a title and now in this Leagues Cup, you can win or you have a chance to win a title in three and a half weeks.

Now, first of all, we enjoy this game today, and then we are looking for League's Cup and for Toronto.

And Cam Harper, we will see. We have to check him. It was a little bit a similar situation like when we played in New York City, so we have to look and we have to check.

Q. Frankie Amaya was a big loss but Ronny Donkor has stepped in seamlessly to the starting role. What have you seen from him in his Red Bull II game time to now, and what's the biggest difference he's made so far?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, it's a great example for our philosophy in the club, and to work hard every day, and also with the second team, Ibrahim Sekagya as the head coach, then you have the chance then to join the training sessions with the first team, and then you have to show it on the field, as well.

This has been the professional soccer when we need in this performance, and he made it very well, and with the ball, especially this confidence to play with the ball, and a lot of good moments in a lot of small spaces to find a solution and not so easy to find the ball. For.

Me this is good to see that in the six position. We know Frankie, we are in contact with Frankie, and he was also a very important player for the club here for many years, and we wish him all the best.

We have a situation now with Danny and Ronny and hopefully Peter Strauss is coming back. It's good to see he's doing better and in such a good way.

Q. You got the first goal in about seven minutes. Usually the team would sit back but you didn't do that tonight. How satisfying was that, and was that something that you talked about to the team before the game, apply the pressure on Cincinnati?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: And also when we make -- and this is then also a part of a game when you make some mistakes or miss some passes or you miss some chances, and only to keep the structure, to keep the mentality, to keep the behavior how we want to play. This is necessary, and this was -- for me, it was one of the best example and to show that today, against a very good team, Cincinnati, and to show that the whole time of the game, and this is what we need.

And not only to play a period of a game 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and so you have to play the whole game with all these mistakes, and this is -- that can happen but to have the focus on the next situation, or the next run or the next pass, this is what we need. And this was, for me, a very good example, three days after the Montréal game, to show another face then, and especially on this topic.

Q. We know how good Kyle Duncan is at the defensive end. So can you talk about his performance, and also chipping in with the goal?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: I wasn't sure that it was a chip to be honest, this goal.

But yeah, we had also after the Montréal game, a clear conversation to be honest directly after the game on the field, and then the days after the Montréal game. This is Kyle Duncan, how we want to see him, and to play clean and to play clear in every situation, and not to make some easy mistakes. It's good, he make good runs today, and it's not so easy to play with the right foot and the left fullback. On top, he scored. It's important for us, the goal, and to have this confidence to take this shot was very good, a very good reaction.

Q. Looking forward to the Leagues Cup, have you and the coaching staff talked about how you're going to approach this tournament, will you give players rest or give younger players more time?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: What I can say is we don't take a risk with injuries or players or something like that. If they can play 70 percent, 30 percent, they are not able to play. So in this case, we don't take risk. But when the light goes on in the stadium, to be honest, then you have to play, and then the main target is then to win. It's always the same, and this is the focus now. First of all, to enjoy, to have this break now and to enjoy these 41 points with the whole number and to look forward for sure. I can't prepare a team to be honest and to say then, it's only Leagues Cup or something like that. At the end, there's a title, so this is also the truth.

This is then our focus and our part to handle it with all these players with our roster. But I'm sure when we have a press conference on Friday and you ask me about how important is this game against Toronto, I will say it's very important, and when we have the jerseys on on Saturday and what I said, the light goes on, then to give everything for a feeling for the next points, the next winning, that's it.

Q. Just to build off of the Kyle Duncan question, he has had a good run of form the last few games, from having an assist against D.C. and being able to seamlessly cover numerous positions, and just also, thoughts on Dennis getting an extended amount of time today despite the injury from Cameron Harper and the kind of positive runs he's been able to make and open up the field for your side.

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, but to be honest, I don't want to criticize now someone with something like that or be negative but for me Kyle, he has high potential, high quality. He has everything. He can run. He has speed. He has also some good solutions with the ball. But he has always to play clean. This is necessary as a fullback.

Today, he did it very well, for the team, for himself, and when he plays like this today, then for me, he's a top, top, top fullback. But he has to do this every time. Every time.

Dennis, yeah, he played 70 minutes today. He came in, had a lot of good runs, but also this is what we have to improve. This is my job as a coaching staff to improve and to keep the ball in some moments, and this is to play a little bit more physical in some moments. But in a young age, we have to keep this, to improve this. But he's in a good direction.

Q. What does it say about this club that with Emil, you've kept both unbeaten streaks at home and the current streak you're on right now?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, for me, it's very important to have this feeling as well, as a head coach to have this feeling that we are in this second period now of the season with this performance and with this mentality. For sure, he million is a key player for us. He makes the difference in a lot of good moments to coach, first of all, the team with the ball, to create some moments, and it's more spaces in our final third. He's a key player for us.

Hopefully he comes back as quick as possible, but we have to find solutions. I would say in this tough summer, to be honest, a lot of players were away, first of all, then with national break, European Cup, Lewis and some injuries, Copa America, Jeremiah Tolkin is now with the Olympic team away.

So I would say it was a tough period to be honest to handle this but great behavior, great mentality, and it's good now to end with this result today.