New York Red Bulls II came into Friday night’s game swimming against the current: winless since August 3 and not having a win against Ottawa Fury in three tries since Ottawa joined the league in 2017. However, NYRB II put in a performance that Head Coach John Wolyniec was proud of, keeping a clean sheet and recording a gritty 1-0 victory.
“Certainly, a lot of good,” Wolyniec said. “We seemed to create chances a lot often and today was no exception. The one challenge I would have is in this type of game can we start to put the game away by finishing some of our chances, but in the end I think got to be real proud and real happy that we get a 1-0 win. I think that builds character and builds in confidence, puts in confidence in the team and everything lasts through some tough moments and coming out of the other side so real proud of keeping off.”
The result was an unfamiliar one for NYRB II; it was the team’s first 1-0 victory of the 2018 USL season. With high scoring matches against Louisville and Charleston preceding tonight’s match, Wolyniec is was quick to mention the improvement shown from his side.
“This is a level up from the Penn win –the shutout and 1-0 win,” Wolyniec said. “We played aggressive and when you make little mistakes it costs us heavily so, you know, Louisville game a little bit of a blip and then Charleston, but those are two good teams so maybe we weren’t in our best at those games, but I still think we’re moving in the right direction, especially defensively I think we’re getting better. We got blips along the way, but I think those were all the direction of the group and individuals has been in a good direction, in a positive direction.”
Next up for Wolyniec’s side is a visit to Indy Eleven for a midweek clash at a location that these players haven’t visited before: Lucas Oil Stadium, where Indy XI moved this season after a stint at Carroll Stadium at IUPUI. While some coaches would certainly have a problem with the venue, it’s business as usual for Wolyniec.
“For me it doesn’t bother me, Wolyniec said. “I’ve scored some goals on football fields so the other part, they’re a really good team, they play well home. It’s a little bit of a short week for us but it’s another team that’s close to us in the standings so a team that we need to get some kind of result against. We got to be aggressive and go after it and hopefully the performance is there and hopefully the result goes our way.”
NYRB II’s clash with Indy Eleven at Lucas Oil Stadium is slated for Wednesday, September 5. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and can be seen live on ESPN+.
