The New York Red Bulls concluded their first phase of the preseason in Florida with a convincing 3-0 victory over D.C. United. Daniel Royer, Florian Valot and Tom Barlow scored the goals.
“It was a very good game,” said Royer, who scored the first goal of the day. “Definitely, the best so far in the preseason. I think everybody showed up. We did a really good job in terms of counter-pressing, and more so with the ball, which is really important, so that when we win balls back, we’re able to play and create chances.”
Last Saturday, the Red Bulls lost 2-1 to Atlanta United in their first scrimmage of the preseason, but Valot feels that the team was able to build off from that defeat.
“Yeah, I think we built off from the Atlanta game,” the midfielder said. “We played really well against and with the ball. I’m really looking forward to what’s next. We’re pretty much building up with new young players and other players coming in as well.”
So far in the preseason, Valot has scored two goals and added one assist. He’s finding good sensations on the field in the process.
“It’s good to get back on the field, trying to find good sensations,” he said. “It’s good to be back with the guys and help them get results during these preseason games. Really happy, overall.”
Head Coach Chris Armas believes Valot’s contributions will be important moving forward.
“We knew that when we lost him last year, it was a big loss for us, and he brings a lot of intelligence, and something different in that part of the field,” Armas said. “He's got an ease and elegance with the ball, but against the ball he still understands and commits to what we do.”
In the second half, Kaku got his first preseason minutes, coming off the bench for Ben Mines.
“He's been asking for these minutes, and he makes us different,” Red Bulls’ Head Coach said. “So it's good to see him with the group every day, and he's all in. He's all in, and around here this is important. And he's been excellent. He’s been itching to get back from the injury. He came back right away with the team, and you can see that his English is great. It's so nice to see him out there because he adds so much to the team.”
New York leaves Bradenton with two wins and a loss, leaving Armas and his coaching staff proud of the work accomplished.
“It's a really nice way to end the two weeks. The guys have given everything, every day,” he said. “It means a lot that everyone can partake in a good performance. Everyone feels part of it, so we thought that against the ball we were able to control things in many ways, and then when we had the ball, you can see that our guys are having more ideas with some of our spacing and some of the areas we want to attack. It was good to see and mostly seeing players playing free and enjoying themselves out there with a real direction. It was a good day for us.”
