New York Red Bulls head coach Sandro Schwarz would have liked his team to keep the lead and take all three points against Orlando City SC but he’s still proud of the performance put forward by his players. The Red Bulls held a 1-0 lead until late in the game when an own-goal handed the home team a point. A win would have seen New York go top of the Eastern Conference.
“There was great defending and set pieces most of the time,” lauded Schwarz after the game. “The spirit, the energy, was top today. We are a little bit angry about the result when you concede, especially at the end, but most of the time it’s a good performance.”
New York statistically played a game that we are used to seeing from the club. They seeded possession to the opposition and shots overall but tied on how many efforts were on net. They also controlled arial duels and were expected to score more than Orlando. The team’s only goal came off of a converted penalty kick from Lewis Morgan in the first half. The lead stood until the 89th minute when Noah Eile’s own-goal cooled off the prospects of a win.
“I’m very proud of the team, of their fighting spirit, of their mentality. It’s not so easy to play here, especially after a four/zero top notch game against Miami. We were able to give everything today for the three points and we had very good moments to score the second goal. After 30 minutes, we lost a little bit of control over the game with some easy mistakes with the ball.”
The Red Bulls now have a 1-1-2 record away from Red Bull Arena, having taken five out of a possible 12 points. The team will remain on the road to face another tough test when they travel to play FC Cincinnati on Saturday. The trip to TQL Stadium will be the third time the club has played a team in the top five of the Eastern Conference with a record of one loss and one win thus far.
photo by Matt Kremkau