Full-time:
RBNY 3-1 Santos
Line-ups:
RBNY: Coundoul, Miller, Ream, Petke, Hall, Robinson, Richards, Ubiparipovic, Lindpere, Kandji and Salou
Santos: Fabio Costa, Alex Sandro, Luciano Castan, Aguiar, Lucas, Germano, Breitner, Alan Santos, Neymar, Giovanni and Zezinho
Goals:
11’ -- RBNY -- Joel Lindpere
44’ -- RBNY -- Mike Petke
45’ -- RBNY -- Dane Richards
90’ -- Santos -- Germano
The Game:
“I always tell my friends and my teammates, it’s like after living in an apartment and finally you’re going to live in your own home. It felt like when you get the keys, you feel so excited. The whole week, at that time Joel Lindpere was my roommate, so all week we were excited and he told me we were going to give a good performance, and I told him the same. We always have a little banter going on with each other about who can be on top each game, so that was like a little motivation to keep me on my toes.
“Finally when that day came, we didn’t need much motivation because we were going to play against Santos, and the icing on the cake was that we were going to play against Neymar. He was playing, so we were really pumped. We were excited the day of the game. We drove together, and we pulled up at the game, and the atmosphere was unbelievable, the fans were unbelievable, that for us was extra motivation.”
~ Dane Richards
“What can I say, it was a special moment, obviously because it was the inauguration of a new stadium in Harrison, and what better way than with a game against Santos. It was a beautiful experience, really. I’ve never been present in the inauguration of a stadium, and for me that day was special because of the whole significance of it, the opponent we faced and also the amazing atmosphere that helped us get a win that day.”
~ Roy Miller
“There were a lot of Santos fans in the stands and Neymar got the ball. I went to press because I played in the midfield. I went to take the ball away, but he chipped the ball over me and went around me, so he really tricked me. All the stands went in awe because he made a great move, but I didn't let myself down, so I think five or ten minutes later I scored the goal and we were 1-0 up. This was my moment to put my hands up and say that never give up even against the top players in the world.”
~ Joel Lindpere
“Game started, 11 minutes in, Joel scored. Oh my God! That was the perfect time to be jealous, if you're ever going to be jealous that was the perfect time to be jealous. First it was the team effort, you wanted to get a good result, attract more fans for Red Bulls, so that was the main goal, but between me and Joel, it was always about who was going to be on top. When he scored, I was like, ‘The only way I can be on top in this game is if I either score or assist,’ so when I scored, it was unbelievable. I wasn’t thinking about being above Joel at that time; I was just thinking about the crowd atmosphere. When I look back at that goal, it was a really good goal. We managed to beat Santos 3-1, and to beat a Brazilian club with Neymar, it was a great feeling. Even when I watch the goal till this day, I still get goosebumps. Imagine!”
~ Richards
On Marking Neymar:
“Obviously, I played on the left flank, and he played more on the right flank. Every time he got the ball, the fans would focus on him and say things. The fans already knew that he was destined for great things. At that moment, I didn’t have that much knowledge about him, but you could tell that he was a difference maker.”
~ Miller
“He was super quick with the ball. I was on the right, and he always played on the left, so the right-back at the time was Jeremy Hall. Every time we turned over the ball, I could hear, ‘Get back, help! Get back, help!’ That’s the only thing I could hear for a week because that's the only thing he said, but yeah, as soon as we turned over, the fear for Neymar was real, it was dangerous. ‘Get back, help!’ So as soon as we lost it, we had to get back right away. That kid was unbelievable because if you just blinked, he’s gone. Even if you don’t blink, he’s still gone.”
~ Richards
