POST-MATCH QUOTES: Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls, 6.16.18
Philadelphia Union Head Coach Jim Curtin
Opening statement…
Overall, a good team performance though we have a special group when it comes to this competition. As a club, we take it very serious. The only disappointing part of the night is that we did not get a third goal to kill the game off. With the amount of chances that we create, I think you see a team now that defensively the whole group presses together. I think we are a really good team in possession. I think you saw some of our composure of passing out of tight spot. The one thing we are lacking is that killer instinct in front of goal. We created a ton of chances and tonight should be a night where we have a fun time and we can celebrate a little earlier than we did. We made it interesting; let a good Red Bull team get back into the game on a silly, silly play. I have to say that Ale Bedoya’s game and Haris Medunjanin’s game were at a very high level. I think that Ales’ ability to dribble out of a tight spot kind of throws Red Bulls press off. The way they fly at you his composure to beat the first guy off the dribble has them scrambling a bit and we were able to play out of some tight spots. Overall, a really good win against a very good team. The survive and advance mentality now. We have a home game in our stadium and we are three wins away from a trophy, which is something to be proud of. We still need to find ways to finish all these chances we are creating as a team.
On when he would see Bradley Wright-Phillips…
We knew that they were on a five games in thirteen days stretch. We had a similar stretch ourselves earlier, and we won the opportunity to host this game, which is always a big factor when it comes to Open Cup. I think our fans were excellent tonight, but once you see he is not in the starting lineup you know that he is coming in. He is a guy that changes the game instantly that is what he did. He is a top striker in our league. They need one chance and they score so you know it is a learning moment for our center backs that got split tonight by him. He is one of the best to do it, so I think you have to learn from it, but at the same time you need to know him and Royer. When we saw the team sheet come out, we knew they were going to play a big role in the game. You thought instantly at the latest they would come on in no later than the 60th minute. Overall, happy, but of course you knew Wright-Phillips was coming, he is a top striker. We made it a lot more interesting than it needed to be, but great team goal on the second goal. When you really watch it back, that is about the best goal we could score.
On the reaction of the second goal…
It is more of the quality of the goal. When you see something like that, it is something that you work on as a team to possess the ball and stay calm under pressure against a high pressing team. When that happens, I think there are different types of goals. There are the ugly goals, like penalty kicks or deflected goals, but that was a true team goal if you really watch that one back. All the things that guys did are things that we work on and ask of them in training. So when it comes out, from the staff it gets us excited. Haris [Medunjanin] scored a heck of goal himself. I think the second one was special and maybe that is why you see the reaction. It is great for Cory [Burke] to score. Probably could have had four or five goals, but credit to him. He kept going and created chances. I thought he had a penalty kick call in the first half. No VAR in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, so we will never know, but happy for Cory. You cannot fault the kid for the amount of work he puts in for the team. I think he stuck at it and got us a second goal, but again the amount of breakaways we seem to have from full field we have to have more of a killer instinct and score more goals as a team.
On having Cory Burke on the field…
It is great. It is credit to the work he has done for years at Bethlehem Steel. The time he put in there to work hard and to maintain his fitness now, so when we go out into a game like this he can literally empty his tank to the point where his body shut down at the end of the game. He almost made it the ninety minutes tonight. We would prefer that, but he cramped up because he emptied his tank and that is all you can ask of a guy. The amount of times he makes it difficult on players like Parker and Colin in the back and just kind of wears them down over time. I think that is the reason you saw him have the space that he had to get the goal. He stayed great off the shoulder in the blind spot and that kind of like a boxer over time the punches that these guys take over and over and the runs Cory is willing to make wear people down and eventually he got that second goal.
On Alejandro Bedoya returning to the field…
It is always important to have your leaders out on the field. I thought him, Haris, and Borek [Dockal] in the first half really controlled the tempo of the game. He is a really important piece for us and again the incident in Atlanta is difficult. It makes it disjointed for them. We lose him in a huge Toronto game, but if you really look at Ales’ body of work he is having his best season in a Union shirt. I believe that. I think he is playing at his highest level for us. He is taking a bigger leadership role. Tonight was an excellent game from him. I say it to you guys all the time our guys will go as our central midfield goes. When they are on the ball a lot and we do a good job on putting them on the ball. It is kind of how our system is set up to have success and when we do that we are a good team. That starts with Ale as our captain.
On the possibility of penalty kicks…
You always have to think about that. You want to be proactive with your substitutions in this competition because you do not want to go the 120 minutes, but the same time you have to at least be prepared and not burn all your substitutions knowing that there is the potential for an 120 minute game. You really have to be communicating with your guys when they come over for water. How are they feeling? Can they finish? Ilsinho had a little tweak in the first half, so we probably made that one even earlier than we would have wanted to, but in this competition you have substitutions and the timing and the recognizing who can take a penalty kick, who is good under pressure. All that factors in and then you have a perfect plan in place and then someone cramps up. It can change fast. I was worried when we saw Ale go down and then you are starting to think hopefully it is a cramp, so he can get through it. You have the thought that maybe we would burn that last substitution too soon. So, we got through it. These games are always crazy in the Open Cup especially with Red Bull. Happy to come out on top and I think our players deserve a lot of credit for the work that they put in.
On getting revenge from last year’s Open Cup…
We have beaten them a couple times in the Open Cup too so it goes back and forth. Penalty kicks are usually in play when we get together, so I am happy that they were not today. You take a little less mileage off guy’s legs and get it done in regulation, which was important. It is a rivalry game. I have said it a thousand times our staffs know each other very well. Our teams know each other very well and I think it leads to good, competitive soccer games. There are a heck of a lot good soccer players on the field and a lot of good plays and goals tonight. It was an exciting game. I am happy that we came out on top.
On Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty performances…
Not great. It was not there best night in terms of sliding and covering for each other. I do not think they were on the same page tonight. At the same time, they are young and I think they made some really good plays. I think they made some composed plays, but as a center back you can play good for 89 minutes and if you get split like they did. Again, Kaku finds a great spot and plays a good ball to a top striker, but it is still pros and we are going to hold them to that high standard because we know they can handle that situation. So, to give up a goal like that in that moment I think that it was difficult. I give them a lot of credit for their growth and sticking with it. I do not think it was either of their sharpest game, but maybe I am critical and too hard on them because I see so much talent in them. I know where they can go and where they can be. That is what Earnie and I want for them. We want them to be playing in Europe. Tonight was not a European type performance from either of them. That is just the blunt, honest truth. I know they will bounce back against Vancouver because we believe in them. I believe in the two nineteen year olds. There are going to be mistakes. If you think of some plays tonight, we could have been punished a couple more times. I know that they will bounce back and play against Kei Kamara and play a great game for us. Overall, not their best but they stuck with it, gave up one goal, and we hung on. Even in these moments they are growing and they are learning because it is hard to close out games when it gets nuts and there is pressure and now you are making a last second clearance. There are some great individual plays, but center backs are remembered for the complete ninety minutes.
On Haris Medunjanin’s performance…
He is having a really good year. A guy who can control the game with his passing ability. The things he makes look so easy even off of fouls. The guys hits a sixty yard ball directly to Keegan [Rosenberry] foot on the other side every kind of expects it at this point. These are not easy things to do with him hitting the ball over two guys head on Red Bull. I get nervous every time he does it, but he does it so effortlessly. He is a special player. I love working with him because he sees the game different. I think he sees the game the right way and he tries to play out of pressure. He is the key to our possession-based system and he is playing at high level right now. I thought he controlled the tempo of the game from the start and when you are able to pass like he does it can be demoralizing for Red Bull, who runs and presses and then he hits a sixty yard ball to the other side of the field and they have to run again.
Philadelphia Union midfielder Haris Medunjanin
On his goal...
Ale [Bedoya] was on the right with the ball so I called for it and he passed it to me, I made my action and I shot the ball. I had a little bit of luck, it touched the defender, and it went in.
On if he felt the need to shoot with the team struggling to find the back of the net as of late...
Yeah, I always try to be there, the 16, around the box there. I always tell them because everyone is so focused to give the ball inside. A lot of times there's a lot of players there. Borek [Dockal] a lot of time is there. Last year, Ilsinho scored a ton of goals. It dangerous because Cory [Burke] is there with two defenders so it opened up the space around the box, around the penalty spot. It's important to be there and today it went in.
Philadelphia Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya
On how the last two games have been due to sitting out...
It sucks to not be playing. You always want to be active and in part of the game. It's been weird watching from the stands for both games. Against Toronto, personally I felt I could've made a difference in that game. I thought that was a weaker Toronto that we've seen in years past and I felt I could have definitely done some damage to them but here I am. I'm back in the fold, I cramped up a little at the end actually so think that was due to not having played those last two games, but I'm just happy to be back, hoping I can lead us to a good rest of the summer and get us in the playoffs.
On if having a part in both of the goals was a little more rewarding after sitting out the last two games...
Yeah, I was hungry. I told myself, with these last two games, 'When I get back out...'. We were in good form. That game in Atlanta. Even before that whole mess happened, I thought we were playing really well in Atlanta so kept telling myself to keep playing the way I was playing before. I think I am still in good form.
New York Red Bulls Head Coach Jesse Marsch
On the second half…
Yeah, we had a few chances at the beginning of the second half and if we get the lead off of those chances, it's a completely different game. Blake comes up big on some of those, he comes up big on the chance by Kaku. Our guys really went after it and we were operating on fumes. We were playing with half a deck. The way that U.S. Soccer allowed this fixture to take place is not in the spirit of the tournament. That's all I can say. It's clearly an advantage for one team over another. I'm not going to make excuses. Philadelphia got the win. They are moving on and we wish them luck. But I hope in the future, between MLS and U.S. Soccer that we can find a way to create more fixture dates where everybody is playing on the same day, where the international dates are honored and the cup dates are clear because our league operates where it's here, there and everywhere and there are some advantages and some teams have played three more than we have and in every way, it just winds up being a weird setup. Those are other issues I guess. Watching our team go after it at the end. I told the guys, watching Kemar and Tyler run back, run forward where they have played three games in a week and they have poured their hearts out for five games in fifteen days and have done everything they can to put the team in a position to succeed, the effort was amazing. It's disappointing to not be in the tournament anymore but I'm not going to take any negatives.
On crafting tonight’s lineup…
Yeah, that was the challenge. The last thing we wanted was injuries. We honor this tournament by the way we treat it but given the workloads for all of the different guys, and we still managed to take guys out of games and still pushed to get results, we felt the biggest way to derail our season was to pick up injuries to our key guys. The rotation we felt was going to be necessary and then we felt how do we do it in a way where it protects everybody but gives us a good chance to win the game. You're looking at personnel, formation gameplan, approach, a lot of hot games so the best news is we don't have injuries. Bezecourt picked up one but that's not a muscle injury. So the fact that we got through this in a healthy manner means that we'll still give ourselves a chance to push on with the season.
On Hassan Ndam’s play…
Yeah, I think he did well. We are continuing to build development in with different players and give guys opportunities and they are rising to the challenge and that's really good to see. If we get the goal, like the chance at the start of the second half, we would've made the subs and even if we kept it 1-0 right when we put Danny and Brad on, we gave one up, then I think we would've given ourselves a good chance so we were close to having the strategy working but we weren't close enough.
On if the Medunjanin goal was the beginning of the end…
No. The second goal meant we were really going to have to chase them. I think if we kept it 1-0, we would've been able to put Danny and Brad in and keep them on their heels.
On the team’s upcoming break…
Sometimes you say the break is mental. This break is physical. This team needs some time to recover and regenerate. The mental part is a piece of it too but this team physically needs some rest.
New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles
On getting knocked out…
The scheduling didn't do us any favors but that's no excuse. You can't fault the effort. Guys came in and made a difference but unfortunately it was too little, too late.
On Haris Medunjanin’s goal…
Yeah, so as Haris steps up to hit, I'm screened and then it goes off of his head and by the time it hit his head, I just don't get a good read on it. Before I know it, I look back and it's sinking below the crossbar. It's just unlucky because for the most part, I thought we did what we wanted to do, we wanted to stay compact. It's too bad that the thing that broke us was an unlucky bounce like that. Then of course we fell asleep for the second one so there's no excuse again for that but I really felt we were going to make some magic happen after we got the goal and cut the deficit in half and then Kaku gets a good look and Andre Blake did what Andre Blake does and made a great save.
On the team’s recent busy stretch…
I felt the mentality was great. The guys were real spry yesterday in training and there was a good vibe in the locker room today and we felt like we were going to do something special tonight and the first half wasn't too bad. We still felt that at 0-0, the game was there for us. Like I said, it's just unfortunate that something like a deflection ends up turning the tide and still in the end we felt like we were going to do something and that speaks to the mentality of this group. There's this never say die attitude in this locker room and it's a compliment to how guys have been called on in the last 15 days and they found a way to give their best effort and make a difference and I felt like it continued tonight so I know the guys are bummed because we are no longer in the tournament but there's still this feeling that we can do something special this year. This is going to sting for tonight but we have a few days off, which the guys have earned and we'll be back ready and strong for Dallas.
On Hassan Ndam…
It's been great to see what Hassan can do. We see it in training. We see it in USL and you never know what's going to happen when someone steps onto the MLS level and he's been great. My only advice to him is to continue to work hard and work on his development. His ceiling is quite high. He's a guy that you can rely on when his number is called and a guy Jesse has a lot of confidence in when we do need a change.
On the team’s upcoming break…
I hope everyone gets a chance to get a mental refresher. It's good to get a break not only physically but when we get to step away for a few days, it's a chance to recharge and when you look at the schedule for the rest of the summer, it doesn't get any easier so we know we need to utilize the next few days and recharge.
New York Red Bulls defender Tim Parker
On the match…
It's disappointing. The two goals probably could've been prevented in certain ways but we had our opportunities and we didn't jump on it and it was a pretty open game and you could see the fatigue on some of our guys. We had some opportunities that we didn't take advantage of and some that we gave up when we shouldn't have.
On the Medunjanin goal…
He stepped up and took a shot and I tried to block it and it deflected off of me and Luis just didn't see it and it finds the back of the net.
On his physical state…
I'm tired but whenever Jesse asks me to play, I'm going to find the energy to play. I'm used to being able to play three games a week when I was in Vancouver so I don't see why I wouldn't be able to do it here. Looking forward to a couple of days off. Every needs a mental break, then we come back and kick it on Wednesday.
On being eliminated…
It's disappointing because this gives you an opportunity to win a trophy and that's what this cup run gives you but we know we have other things to look forward to and other things to win at the end of this year.
