The New York Red Bulls advanced to the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Club Atlético Pantoja in Leg 2, defeating the Dominican club 5-0, on aggregate.
New York, on the night, was in full attack mode, creating a number of scoring opportunities and applying pressure on a formidable Pantoja’s defense that allowed 0.91 goals a game in league play in 2018.
Danny Royer, who scored his second goal in as many games believed the team could have scored more on the night.
“We could have scored way more goals, but overall I think we did a good job,” Royer said.
Although the Red Bulls didn’t convert on all their scoring opportunities, Royer believes the club is trending upwards to start the season.
“We're still at the beginning of the season and trying to get sharper, but I think overall, we did a great job,” Royer said. “It was a good step in the right direction.”
Sean Davis headed in the first goal of the match, in the 27th minute, called the performance by the club "professional," and also spoke about how experience in the Concacaf Champions League played a major factor in how the club approached the series.
“When we look back at this series, we’ll be proud of it, because it was a professional performance from start to finish,” Davis said. “We know what these games are going to look like. I think our experience in this competition helped out a lot.”
Captain Luis Robles echoed Davis’ point when speaking with the media about experience in this competition benefitting the club.
“We've been in this situation before, a lot of guys had last years’ experience, so I didn't feel like we're dealing with anxiety,” Robles said. “We brought the right approach.”
Head Coach Chris Armas spoke with reporters after the match and praised the teams’ mentality in the series, and how this is a great way to start the year.
“The most important thing I think was to have the right mentality in a series like this and to start the year off with professional performances, and that was impressive from the guys,” Armas said.
