Home Forums Club House Professional Soccer Red Bulls Wear Down Earthquakes, 4-1

Red Bulls Wear Down Earthquakes, 4-1


The New York Red Bulls hosted the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday afternoon. They spotted their southern California opposition to take a one goal lead in the 5th minute of the match.

Finally, in the 51st minute of the game, Alex Muyl who substituted in the 35th minute for an injured Florian Valot scored the first of two goals for the Red Bulls, assisted by Danny Royer, with the next one coming unassisted at the 71st minute mark.

New York added two more goals before the match was over, one from Bradley Wright-Phillips in the 85th minute assisted by Shaun Davis, and the finally tally by Danny Royer in the 89th minute assisted by Marc  Rzatkowski and Michael Amir Murillo.

New York Red Bulls 4, San Jose Earthquakes 1

Misconduct Summary:SJ - Chris Wondolowski (caution, unsporting behavior) 45'+3'SJ - Aníbal Godoy (caution, unsporting behavior) 47'SJ - Marcos López (caution, unsporting behavior) 65'NY - Michael Amir Murillo (caution, unsporting behavior) 81'  

New York Red Bulls: Luis Robles ©; Aaron Long, Michael Amir Murillo, Tim Parker, Kyle Duncan, Sean Davis, Marc Rzatkowski, Vincent Bezecourt, Florian Valot (Alex Muy, 35'), Danny Royer (Andreas Ivan, 90'+3'), Bradley Wright-Phillips (Mathias Jørgensen, 86') 

TOTAL SHOTS: 23; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 9; OFFSIDE: 3; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 0

San Jose Earthquakes: Daniel Vega; Guram Kashia, Harold Cummings, Tommy Thompson, Nick Lima (Marcos López, 62'), Anibal Godoy, Cristian Espinoz, Magnus Eriksson, Vako (Jackson Yuelil, 78'), Judson (Danny Hoeson, 78'), Chris Wondolowski © 

TOTAL SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; FOULS: 14; OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES:

4 Referee: Rubiel VazquezAssistant Referees: Kyle Atkins, Andrew Bigelow4th Official: Drew FischerVAR: Alan Kelly 

Attendance: 15,621   

Alex Muyl's second-half brace lifted the New York Red Bulls over the San Jose Earthquakes, 4-1, on Saturday at Red Bull Arena. New York extended its league unbeaten streak to eight consecutive matches (6-0-2), dating back to last season.

The Red Bulls tallied their 99th league win at Red Bull Arena since it opened in 2010. New York have the best home record in MLS, with the most home wins and points since 2010 at 99-22-31 and 328 points.New York is 10-1 in the last 11 matches at Red Bull Arena across all competitions.

The Red Bulls have outscored their opponents, 20-4, during the stretch.

Moments into the match, San Jose's Magnus Eriksson found Cristian Espinoza on the near sidelines. Espinoza dribbled into the box and beat Luis Robles to the far post for the early 1-0 lead in the fifth minute.Down 1-0 to start the second half, 

Daniel Royer connected with Alex Muyl inside the box for the equalizer in the 51st minute.In the 71st minute,

Muyl completed his brace as he collected a loose ball inside the six-yard box and snuck a shot to the near post to give New York the lead, 2-1.New York continued to attack as Vincent Bezecourt fed Sean Davis into the box.

Davis dribble towards the endline and sent a cross across the face of goal for Bradley Wright-Phillips, who redirected inside the near post to raise the lead to two, 3-1.

As time was winding down, Marc Rzatkowski led Michael Amir Murillo towards the endline and Murillo swung a cross for Royer to tap in for the fourth and final goal.Muyl not only collected his first two goals of the season, he recorded his first career brace.Wright-Phillips ended his 10-match scoreless streak across all competitions with his first tally of the season.

The English striker raised his career totals to 107 league goals and 125 across all competitions.

Royer recorded his second-straight multi-point match with a goal and an assist. The Austrian winger leads the team with four goals across all competitions.

The Red Bulls have not lost a match against the Earthquakes at Red Bull Arena since it was built in 2010 (5-0-2).

The Red Bulls continued to hold serve at RBA against Western Conference opponents over the last two seasons.

New York has lost just once in the previous 14 matches (11-1-2) against teams from the West at RBA and has outscored their opponents, 33-10, during the stretch.New York is 16-16-10 all-time in the month of March.

New York has scored 61 goals in March and allowed 58. Head coach Chris Armas moved to 13-3-4 overall in MLS regular-season matches and 9-1-0 in league home games.

Armas moved into a tie with Carlos Alberto Parreira for seventh all-time in franchise wins with 13.

New York remain at home as they host Orlando City SC on Saturday, March 23. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with coverage on MSG Plus and New York Red Bulls Radio on TuneIn.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York Red Bulls Head Coach Chris Armas

On the match:
When we lose our aggressiveness, we're a shell of ourselves. So let San Jose in a bunch of spots in the first half, so we talked about being aggressive, but yeah, as a whole, we were not happy with that part of things. So we adjusted a little bit how we press, we did it a little bit differently because they were exposing us on the flank, so we flattened out a little bit with Alex and Danny, which kept our full backs home and started running our ten out to press a little more. We thought that helped a little bit and I think that was only a part of it. I think that the energy and the -- yeah, there's a standard of working and it wasn't quite what we needed it to be in the first half. So San Jose a came with a good, good push early and capitalized, and yeah, it wasn't too much to be said at half time.

Q. You did have Kaku in the 11, or the 18 -- what was behind that decision?
Yeah, look, I'm going to make one comment and I'll probably go back to this in a simple way every time. I'm not going to speak about that more than what I'll say right now, which we had a minor internal issue, and we dealt with that, like, quickly. It's nothing to talk about or discuss here. Yeah, that was it, and I'll say that we're -- nothing changes our feeling with -- other than that, with that. I don't want to talk about that much more. There might be some more questions. I'm just not going to address it. It's a minor incident, we're done with it and moving on with Kaku 100 percent.

Q. Talk about Alex, as he came into it the game for floor January, he really turned it on in the second half and got you the first two goals to get back into the game and into the lead. How important has Alex been to you for the start of the season?
Well, I'll say one thing about Alex. He doesn't get enough credit and enough appreciation on the outside.
On the inside, we know what he brings, and we have the pleasure of working with a guy like him who gives so much to the team every day, understands how we play.
So I was thrilled that he could come in and influence the game the way he did. He understands the way we play. We call him a philosophy players. He works, he runs, he's intelligent at what he does.
And the other part, he doesn't get enough credit for his quality, on the outside sometimes. On the inside, again, we get the pleasure all the time to work with him, so what a game changer he was for us.

Q. Could you give us an update on Florian Valot?
Yeah, we don't know yet other than he's getting some medical attention just to get an image and take a closer look. Of course it's a sensitive subject for him coming off the ACL.

So yeah, it looked like a little bit of a reckless challenge. I didn't get to see it again, but I hope that flows okay. An important part for us.

Q. Sometimes a player like Sean Davis doesn't really get the attention he deserves. On a day like today, he got cornered more frequently than we see usually, and also, can you comment on Marc's game today, he was very happy defensively?
Well, I'll start with Mark. You know, I thought we saw the best version of Marc Rzatkowski today. The message to him was to play free because when he does, he instinctively -- his qualities are aggressive against the ball and has a certain -- he has quality when he has the ball. He's a great player. So you can see how aggressive he is stepping to plays and he was a big, big piece today, and then part of that with Sean Davis, I think we could all be excited about that partnership, and then Cristian is right there with them.
But Sean Davis was the man of preseason for us. His leadership, his quality, his understanding of how we play, what you see out of him these days more is getting more out of his teammates around him. So yeah, you saw complete performances from both those guys. Big pieces today.

Q. You had mentioned before, Alex, his resilience and his strength. Can you talk about, he didn't feature Tuesday on the starting roster and then today, what did you see from him in training this week and how did he hang in there this week to be able to set himself up for a day like this?

Yeah, look, Alex is a guy that we really on and we count on him every day. He sets a standard of what a pro should look like. So yeah, I think we all knew that going into Santos, we were down two-nothing, against any other score line, he could be starting that game. But you've almost got to think, all right, you need a goal in the last ten minutes, can he get it? Probably, right, but thinking about how Santos potentially -- like one ended, bunker in the end, thinking Andy -- a breakdown individually, it was important, as they did in leg one.
It was a decision that made sense for the game that day. To finish that part where you said, how does he mentally get ready for today, look, he's a pro. He trains well. He has a lot of courage, Alex, so you can see tonight how important he is.

Q. I know you guys turned it around in the second half but you during the first half, we saw some moments with Luis and Sean -- what was going on there that wasn't working out for you on that wing and what is the latest on Kemar and his health?

Kemar, he's playing -- he's all in on training. He's playing. He's getting the fitness going. What we do here for the Red Bulls, we look out for the people. We look out for the players and we look out for the person. We're trying to bring him along the right way and not put him in harm's way. We're trying to bring him along the right way, so we've taken calculated steps to get him ready, not just ready for the 45 minutes or 60 minutes so he can step in and run with it. He's back to his old self, putting fear in everyone in training. But yeah, he's ready.

As far as Luis and Sean, yeah, we need more of that stuff around here where guys get fired up when things weren't going well. We don't talk about pointing fingers and all that, but yeah, Kyle Duncan was tasked with a big challenge there, their best attacker, he is pin oh is a on the right, he's spacing, he looked to get behind. Those guys are saying, yeah, not get beat behind -- but you saw at half time, the guys giving some support, and showing belief in Kyle and I think that was clear in the second half. It was knocked down on left-handed side on him. On the day, you think of it as a whole, Kyle was excellent.

Q. Was that why he didn't dress --
I didn't see any Tweet today.

Q. Earlier in the week he put out a Tweet --
Yeah, listen, you'd have to ask Kaku about that. Kaku is passionate. We're all passionate. That's his best quality, passion. No one wants to win more than him. I don't think you can find play makers around the world that put as much in as he does, with and without the ball.
So listen, I mean, we have to be mindful of how we educate our players and what they put out there. But sometimes in the spur of the moment, you put out things that maybe, you know, you could do it again or not. Listen, those things are always short-lived, and we see a committed player from him through and through. But again, we don't want him to lose the fire and the passion. We've just got to be mindful of how we do some of those things.

Q. Speaking of play makers, you brought Jorgensen out after Bradley Wright-Phillips --
When will we see him start, I don't know what he will start. We look at every game and size up match-ups. We will try to bring Mathias along the right way. The right way means the next start or minutes or more minutes. We love what we're seeing out of him. I think even a few moments today, his willingness to work against the ball, his willingness to run behind the defense. He almost scored. It's right there for him. Might have been a penalty, not sure, but it looked close. But he's going to take some pressure off of us because he can hold the ball, he can run behind, he can partner with Brad. He can give some minutes for Brad. There's many ways to use him. But if you got to know him a little bit the way we do, what a humble, hard-working team guy, and he fought hard, even in a few minutes. He really gave myself a lot to the team. So we're very pleased with Mathias.

Q. How great was that point –
It was good for the team and it was good for Alex. I'm the coach; I want to win. That's my job. So it ends up being good for all of us. But really, mostly for Alex. He putts so much in every day. What you guys see in moments -- you get a treat on game day. We get to see it every day, how much he gives to the team. And then to see himself, right, I don't know, like you see goalkeepers celebrate goals when a team scores. So imagine without scoring, what that means for him. And I think he needed that. I think he needed -- sometimes that's the one way to quantify all the work for him. He's an attacker, he's trying to make plays, and today, again, he puts himself in good spots and they were emphatic, emphatic both times.

New York Red Bulls midfielder Alex Muyl
On Flo (Florian Valot) going down with an injury
Yeah so Flo got hurt obviously you know no one wants to see that as a sub obviously is never easy to come into the game at that point you're not warm you're not really prepared you're not expected to play that much but you know obviously luckily I've had enough experience with this team that I was able to step in and thankfully helped the team.

On his first goal and the pass from Danny
Yeah Danny had amazing game for me is Man of the Match obviously the assist for the first one I don't know if the second one's going to count as an assist but it's as good as an assist and he did it you know, I made it really easy so, you know, obviously he put a great ball in and I was just there to, to finish it.

On not playing against Santos and then bouncing back
Yeah, no, I mean, it's a great moment for me. Obviously, you know, Brad was there my ear telling me, you know, and it shows a lot of character. I think for me. I never really thought about it like that. But yeah, I mean to not be rostered in a previous game and then come into this one. I'm just really glad I got an opportunity to do something.

New York Red Bulls Striker Bradley Wright-Phillips

On Alex Muyl:
That’s credit to him and it’s credit to the character of the squad. I had a little word with Alex just telling how much character that shows. When you get left out you want to help the team win and he wasn’t chosen but to come back and score two. And to help us get that win is credit to him.

On the halftime talk:
I’m not really sure. We watched a little bit of video and seeing where we can exploit spaces and you know just a couple of movements we can do. But I feel like it has to be on the players to make sure we look like us from the beginning of the game. Obviously, teams aren’t going to come in and lay down and we have to figure out ways to not depend on the manager to come in and tell us what to do. I think we’ve all been here long enough to work things out ourselves. But, yeah, the contrast from the first on to the second was very good.

On how it felt to score after awhile
It was good. Obviously, I had one where I completely missed the ball and I think I was completely offside. But, still, for a striker I think just hitting the back of the net just gives you some confidence and today to get a goal, it was good. Also, for Danny to get off the mark in the league and Alex to get two, it’s good for the front four because I think no matters who is paid, we haven’t been our sharpest and the second half was probably the best we looked.

New York Red Bulls midfielder Sean Davis
On the changes made at halftime:
Yeah, I think their press is a little challenging. The way that they man mark guys is not easy, but I think we regrouped that halftime. We watched some film and we got a better sense of what they were trying to do. In the second half, I think there was a lot better movement, a lot better hold up play and guys took it upon themselves to make plays and get on the ball. I think they couldn't match our fitness, our intensity for 90 minutes and that started the show. We were able to capitalize on some good chances that we created.

Thoughts on the performance from Alex Muyl
I'm really happy for Alex. I think he's a guy that cares about the team and he always puts the team first. He shows up every day, ready to work, willing to work. And even when his numbers not called he has a great attitude. It's something that maybe people from outside don't see but we're lucky to have a guy like Alex. For him to come in and score a brace I think we're all fortunate to be playing with him because every time he puts on the jersey he just gives absolutely everything he has and that's all you can ask of a player. I'm so happy for him.

On becoming a bigger leader on the field
I think it's just a natural progression of a player for me. Every year I want to do better. I trained in the offseason to do better during the season and this was just another opportunity where we needed guys to step up. I felt like the whole team did a great job. I felt like I took it upon myself to take more control of the game and try to make a difference. If we can have every guy with that mindset, which we did in the second half, then we're going to have a great team this year and we feel really good about the group we have.

On the growing partnership with Marc Rzatkowski
I think one of the great things about working with Chris is that he played at such a high level in my position and he really understands my strengths and weaknesses and my capabilities. He always encourages me to get forward and so that's something we always talk about framing the box which you saw with the goal against Pantoja. Now it's just making runs into the final third and trying to get on the ball and opening space, taking some responsibility off the other guys and just trying to make a difference to win the game. That's what we always talk about here, whatever it takes to win the game and so that's what my role called for on the day and that's something we can all build on.

New York Red Bulls midfielder Daniel Royer
On Alex Muyl’s bouncing back after not featuring against Santos
“Yeah you know first of all really happy for him, like you said his mentality is amazing. We all know hes a really hard worker, works his butt off every single day. We need his mentality for the team. I can imagine he was frustrated not to be a part in Mexico but being a part today and jump in for Flo and doing such a great job, that’s big time. Big credit to Alex.

On the slow start and then the strong second half
I think it’s not what happened personally. As a team we’ve been close enough didn’t compress the field enough the rest defense wasn’t as good as usual and I think we had too many individual errors. But yeah the second half totally changed,. We were aggressive we played the way we always play. We looked like us and created a lot of chances. Our rest defense was way better we were way more compact as a team we better than the counter press and helped us get the win.

On his assists on Alex Muyl’s goals
Yeah not in particular Alex. The first one, I just tried to put the ball in a dangerous spot I didn’t even see if anyone was there, just hoping so that was a great spot where Alex ended up. and on the second one I on the trick play we had, there was so much traffic in the middle so I couldn’t choose where to play it, and I just played it the way I felt. Luckily Alex slipped in and got deflected.

San Jose Head Coach Matias Almeyda

On what happened in the second half:
That's two, we had pretty much two games in one. The first half it was a great game. The second half, it was pretty bad. It was against a team, they have been working together for five years now, and they already have their system installed. We're still searching for a bunch of new things, a new mentality and new style of play and it's going to take time.

On frustration and growing pains:
Work, mentality, concentration, the nine goals that we conceded is, I don't think of one where it's the strength of our rival. It's more our mistake. That shows that that we have to keep working to get what we're looking for.

On his belief in the current roster:
We're going to try to give our current players we have confidence. It's never easy to change a system, it's a whole different system and as time goes, we're going to get out of this one we're in.

Q. (Inaudible.)
He hasn't done very many chances. He's still working with the club, with his teammates, with us. He's a goal scorer and sometimes goal scorers goal-scoring phases and sometimes they have droughts, for him and as well as for the rest of the team, we should still keep improving.


San Jose Earthquakes Defender Nick Lima

On what changed in the second half:
It’s a process and there’s things we have to go back and look on but, you know, we’re all just working as hard as we can right now and that’s what we have to continue to do day in and day out.

On if the recent struggles are growing pains learning a new system:
Yeah but, like I said, it’s going to take work from the whole team. Guys are working hard and we can see it. That’s just what we’re going to continue to do.

On how difficult the start to the season has been for him and the team:
Again, you know, for me we learn as much as you can every day. You learn as much as you can from whoever it is, the coaching staff, the players, and we have to stick together if we want to succeed.

On what the Red Bulls did to come back in the second half:
They came in and they pressed, you know, they look more like the red bulls we’ve seen and they made some changes. I think they found some confidence and they’re a good team.

San Jose Earthquakes Forward Chris Wondolowski
On the second half:
Yeah, I think it was a bit of a combination of things. They came out, they changed the game plan and you know, executed a lot better. We got a lot more lax on our marks and they’re extremely deadly and lethal when they get a little bit of room and punished us as they should. I felt in the first half we created similar opportunities but only finished one. They came out and were absolutely deadly with it and punished us rightfully so.

On missed opportunities:
Absolutely, I mean I think that’s… you know, we’re missing that killer instinct. I think if you’re able to get a second one, the third one, it changes the game. It changes their game plan, it changes our game plan, and changes the game. If you’re at one-zero, they’re in it and they’re full of energy. I’m sure they got a good talking to and they came out firing and punished us rightfully so.

On the message at half time:
It was just a team meeting with everyone and kind of just quick analysis of it and he told us this is two different halves. The first half is how we want to play and need to play and you play for 90 minutes, but if you only play for 45 minutes that’s not enough. Especially if you play for 45 minutes and don’t execute the right way then you don’t get punished.