NEW YORK RED BULLS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 7, 2024

Sandro Schwarz

Press Conference

New York Red Bulls 1, Sporting KC 1

Q. Can you speak about Julian Hall and what you thought about his performance, and how he handled the pressure late in the game?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, great. Great after his substitution, and he had also a very good training week. He was gone last week for the second team, so it was very good, very important for us in these moments then that we scored, and that we also used the moment and the chance.

Yeah, he did it in Montréal the first time, which was very important, and to get one point and also today, very good, very important moment for us, for the whole club that he comes in and he's directly in the game, then also obviously to score.

Q. You had Cory Burke start today for the first time this season. Can you talk about his performance up top with Manoel?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, he had also some good moments in the first half. He creates a very good chance for us to be honest in the first half, and the last two, three weeks he was very good in the training session, especially his physical spot.

And then it was the decision clear for us that he could also start today to give him the chance. He had good moments in the game. Yeah, it was good for us.

Q. So far, what do you think about the performance of Felipe Carballo and what is your expectation about him?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, I'm sure we get now every week a question about Felipe, but it's good. It was important for us, especially in our build up situations to have confidence in our structure. He's a very good player, and he wants in every situation the ball.

For sure, he needs also some time to adapt every principle, to adapt, and also the whole team, the movements from the whole team, especially in buildup. But yeah, it's a good start. I think, also, then that he comes in and he showed us his quality.

Q. Compared to the game versus Philadelphia, which was a defensive break down that left a bad taste throughout the organization, this was a little better. I noticed there was a logjam in midfield. Was it something they were doing, or did the team have a hard time moving the ball forward? Can you explain that a little bit?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, it was a tough week, especially after the Philly game for sure. We are actually -- now, it's a little bit not the best situation now. We feel it, as well, on the field.

It seems a little bit that we are not in all situations are free with the whole energy that in some situations we have to think too much about, especially then when we have the ball and the final third to transfer the ball to create these moments.

But in our defense, it was a good step to be honest when we compare this to the game last week. It was a good situations with our back four, and for one moment, it was not good enough, the situation which we concede the first goal. Especially our rest defense was much better than against Philly, and this is very important.

I think what we can do better for sure is to have more deep runs in the final third. But Kansas City, they played also very deep in that structure, 4-3-2-1 sometimes, and we didn't have so much space in the final third.

But I think this is the next step for us, which is very important, and also to make the difference in some moments to have the one against one situation, to create these moments, and this is what we have to do better for sure.

Q. Just to piggyback off that, did you feel them playing deep and being compact and not having a lot of space? You had 56 percent of the possessions but I only saw one or two clear-cut chances. Was it that or something else? What led to the fact that you didn't have as many clear-cut chances as would you have liked?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: I think it's also mental, from the mental side, also. When you have not the best game last week, and for sure, then you concede the first goal, I think this is also then from the mental side not so easy for a young team. And we had also some changes in our starting lineup.

So on this point, to be honest, I'm very happy that we get this one point and especially then when Julian Hall scored in these moments. But I agree. This is what we can improve and what we have then also to create more of these moments to the final pass and the final third, and at the end, we had big chances that in the first half, there was not a lot of chances, that's true.

But on this point then, you need a goal. You need a goal to change, to get more confidence and to believe more in your quality, and this is what we have to do.

Q. I wanted to touch on the opening 20 minutes of this game compared to last week with Philadelphia. Were you happy with the defensive structure of the team? And Peter Stroud had his first minutes back after injury. What are your thoughts after his first game back, the few minutes that he played?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: I think the last game of Peter Stroud was middle of April. So that's five months, and it's also not easy then directly to come and to play then with the whole confidence and to have these situations.

But in this case, I was very satisfied and very happy that we have now Peter Stroud also as an option for us, because he's a very important player with his mentality, with his intensity, and that was good and compared to our defense structure to last week, I think it was another level to be honest when we compare this to the last week.

Q. Another opportunity for Felipe Carballo. What can you say about him?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, I answered this question. Yeah, it's good to have him now in our roster, and also to have this competition on the six position. It's important now to adapt very quick to the principles, and also to have these movements with the teammates all together.

So this is important for us, and every training session, it's important for him, for us, for the whole team, and I have seen a good performance of him the second half.

Q. To go back on Julian Hall, the way he received the ball, is it better to be lucky than good how the ball landed on him, and he was just surprised to see it?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, sometimes you need also lucky moments, that's good. But also his quality. So not to think too much in these situations, and with the clear direction to the goal, and this was good. And then also to have the confidence to take the shot, and that's good.

With a 16-year-old, it's amazing, to be honest, and it's good to have him as an option. When he's come from the bench, also physically, for a 16-year-old player, it's great, to be honest, when you see his legs. So that's good. Very important that we get this result. Felipe a was good so everyone can be satisfied.

Q. Obviously you were not on the bench today and up top. Talk about what you might have saw differently from that point of view, and talk about your coaching staff, what you thought of their performance today as well.

SANDRO SCHWARZ: For my coaching staff, great performance, I would say. Great performance. But yeah, we have a great coaching staff, all the assistant coaches, and very good to push the guys on the sideline and to have the halftime to analyze some moments.

And yeah, for me, I would say it's not so easy to watch the game alone upstairs. It's not so easy for me but it's okay.