New York Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch speaks to the media following his side’s 2-0 loss to rivals New York City FC in Saturday’s Hudson River Derby at Red Bull Arena.
HARRISON — To most of the 25, 219 who packed into Red Bull Arena for the eighth installment of the Hudson River Derby, one thing was clear — New York City FC was the better team on the day and it wasn’t very close.
For as much possession (60 percent) as the New York Red Bulls had, it was their visiting rivals who was more dangerous and certainly more effective. The Boys in Blue scored two goals on six shots on target before the hosts had their first, a strike from left-back Kemar Lawrence which was easily saved by NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
The visitors completely disrupted the Red Bulls’ rhythm, using their trademark high press against them to near perfection. The hosts were frustrated, their passing lanes cut off and their striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, by far the most prolific striker in the series — in seven matches, he’s scored eight. No one else had more than two entering Saturday — hung out to dry.
It was as big a gap NYCFC had created in a single match against their rivals, and that was obvious to almost everyone.
Except the manager on the other side.
“Let’s be careful about how lopsided we think the game was,” said Red Bull head coach Jesse Marsch. “Because we had the ball often. We were now managing to control certain moments. It wasn’t like we were we gave up a ton of chances. … possession doesn’t mean anything unless you’re creating something. So we don’t value possession, but the game wasn’t so lopsided. It was a matter of them making a couple more plays than we were able to make on the day, and then being a little bit more up for the challenge.”
Normally tortured by the Red Bulls high press, it seems NYCFC was able to figure out how to counter against it, something a number of other clubs in Major League Soccer have done.
After leading the league in scoring in Marsch’s first season in 2015 with 62 goals and falling a goal short of NYCFC for the league lead last season with 61, the Red Bulls are struggling to produce a similar output this season. With just 17 goals in as many games, they are on pace to score 34 in 2017, just over half as much as the past two seasons.
Despite the struggles lasting until the midway point of the season, Marsch isn’t hitting the panic button.
“We’re not changing that. We’re not changing it,” Marsch said of his team’s signature playing style. “Listen, do we alter things based on our opponent and do we have game plans and are we specific with certain areas of our tactics so that we think we can manipulate areas that we can gain an advantage? Always. But if you’re saying now are we going to change our counter pressing, our pressing, the way we play, ultimately, no. This is who we are, and we’re proud of who we are. We like who we are …
“We’re not going to make excuses. We’ve got to get better at what we do, and we’ve got to find it game to game and in the season-long situation that we’re in.”
Changes may be arriving in the form of new faces on the squad. Marsch admitted exploring the transfer market to obtain new options for his squad, specifically on the attacking side of the pitch.
“These are things that we’re aware of, and things that we’re trying to address within our team, but we still seem to be affecting ourselves in negative ways with the same problems,” he said. “There are little things that we can do within the group, and then I think that it’s clear. We need to make a couple additions to get some help specifically in the attacking part of the field.”
For now, he and his team are stuck with the sting they’ve delivered twice themselves — watching their rivals celebrate a dominant win on their pitch.
“It’s a really bad feeling right now to have them celebrate on our home field,” he said. “We’re managing the series to command the games and often come out ahead and as the better team. Today’s not the case. So it’s one where we feel terrible for our fans and for our club because we know how much this rivalry means to us. But we can’t get too down, because we’ve just got to keep going, and grinding things out, and finding ways to improve.”
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He was on the touchline managing his side on Saturday, but Marsch wasn’t the one in charge of training throughout the week. That was the duty of assistant coach Chris Armas, who led the team’s preparations as Marsch travelled to Europe to complete another leg in his journey to achieving a UEFA Pro coaching license, a necessity for anyone looking to coach in Europe.
Much was made of the storyline throughout the week and the press conference was no different. Marsch was asked by multiple reporters, pressed numerous times on the impact that played on the day’s result. He stood firm in his responses.
“No. The answer to that is no. Let me be sure. Me being gone, honestly, had nothing to do with it. Nothing to do with it,” he said. “Would I do it again? Yes. And do I have a high level of respect and confidence in our entire club? This is not about me, okay. This is not about me. This is about all of us and our ability to be the best version of ourselves …
“I understand I’m the leader and I’m in charge, and on the day, I’ll take blame. That’s the way it works when you’re the head coach. When things go well, you can spread the congratulations around, and when things don’t go well, you’ve got to look straight at yourself, straight in the mirror, you’ve got to stand in front of people and say I’ve got to do better. I’ve got to find a way for us to be better. That’s what this is, nothing more than that.”
Marsch said it wasn’t his decision to go, that it was the scheduling of the course, but this was something that was going to happen once he elected to take part in the year-long course. Nevertheless, he refuses to use it as an excuse, stating he believes the side got better without him, just as it does when he is present in the East Hanover facilities.
“Well, it’s not really a decision. There’s a structure in courses that you get involved in,” he said. “Two weeks from now, I have to go to the U.S. course. I’m only in two courses right now. And that’s not up to me. That’s what the demands of the course are. They often match the international windows. They often match opportunities around the world for clubs that have gaps in the season. This one fell at, obviously, not the perfect time. But there is no reason to make excuses.”
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Follow Brian Fonseca on Twitter @briannnnf for updates. Email him at brianfilipefonseca@gmail.com with questions, concerns, tips or story ideas.
New York Red Bulls
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