The Red Bulls lost 1-0 at Montreal today, now suffering through one of the worst starts in recent club history. They’re now winless through their first four games. Here is postgame reaction from both sides.
RBNY HEAD COACH MIKE PETKE
On the game…
They have quality player and are very organized team. I thought for a large part of the game we were in control, but there is a reason why they are 4 and 0. We fell asleep a couple of times and they made us pay. We have four guys in the back, and they have one attacker, and they make us pay. That’s something we’ll have to go back and look at.
On Luyindula’s debut…
I think we saw very good things from Peguy, we saw the quality he has. I think 9 times out of ten he buries those chances. I saw a lot of good things from him. I like large chunks of what I saw. His movement off the ball was good today and defensively he committed to putting pressure.
RBNY MIDFIELDER JUNINHO
On the game…
It’s a difficult time for us because we started the season with two losses and two ties. I think we started this game off well, we had the ball, but we get one against us early on and it made the difference. After the goal, we continued to play possession but eventually the game levelled off. After the red, it became more difficult for us.
On his individual performance…
The only positive for me tonight was that I played a full 90 minutes. After playing in Portland and getting injured, I finally felt good on the pitch despite the synthetic field. However, I still love playing this game despite my 38 years. It was a great pleasure to come to Montreal. It was my first time and I appreciated it even more because I got to speak French.
RBNY FORWARD PEGUY LUYINDULA
On his return to the pitch…
It felt great to get back out there and play. I felt good today and I’m satisfied with my first game. I really like the team and we seem to have some chemistry on the pitch which I thought was visible out there today. We didn’t win, but I thought we played well.
On his two scoring chances…
On the first play, it was from a corner. The ball goes towards the second post and the rebound comes out to me. I tried to get a foot on it, but unfortunately it goes over the cross bar. On the second, from a cross, there was a bit of confusion in the box and the ball ends up in front of me. I tried to put it opposite post, but truthfully, I don’t know how the goalkeeper made that save.
IMPACT COACH MARCO SCHALLIBAUM
On being the top team in the league…
When you’re doing well, there are 18 other teams that want to be in your place. You have to defend your position when you’re on the top of the mountain. When you’re there everything is sunny, but when you’re on the bottom, its rainy, or here maybe snowy. So, you can’t take things lightly, you have to be ready to defend your position.
On Marco Di Vaio’s performance…
He did a lot of good work up top. He put himself in really good scoring chances, but unfortunately was unable to score a second goal. You have to remember he is an experienced player, so he needs rhythm and pace. He is an extraordinary athlete.
On the team’s performance…
In the first half, we suffered a little bit, especially the first 10 minutes. We played too far away from New York when defending and didn’t create anything up until we scored and then it lifted us a little. The second half was better. We seem to score goals at opportune moments in a game.
IMPACT DEFENDER KARL W. OUIMETTE
On what he felt before his first career start…
I was nervous…really nervous. I got goose bumps all over. But once you get your first touch, you get into the game. Then I won my first duel and it gave me confidence going forward.
On his performance…
I’m satisfied with my performance. I felt we didn’t give the other team a lot of chances. Personally, I won a lot of duels and anticipated the ball well, so I’m happy with that.
IMPACT FORWARD MARCO DI VAIO
On his performance…
I felt good out there tonight. I fell like things are getting better for me every game and I reacted well in finding space when moving forward. We are creating a lot of chances and we keep improving on the mental aspect of the game, but the season is long and we have to keep working and improving.
On the team’s performance thus far…
We are extremely pleased. We’ve won our first four games, which I don’t think we expected to win all the games, but getting these points are extremely important. They’re in the bank now and we can build on that to get into the playoffs.