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RBNY II TRAINING REPORT – THURSDAY,
APRIL 23
After training at Red Bulls Training Facility in Whippany, N.J. on Thursday, Head Coach Dominik Wohlert and midfielder Deven Cadigan spoke with the media prior to New York’s MLS NEXT Pro regular season home match against Columbus Crew 2 on Sunday.
News and Notes
• New York have posted a 5-2-1 all time regular season record against Columbus Crew 2 through eight MLS NEXT Pro matches.
• RBNY II are unbeaten in four matchups against Columbus and have outscored them 14-7 in that span
• Red Bulls II forward Roald Mitchell leads the active roster with five career goals scored against Crew 2.
Red Bull New York Head Coach Dominik Wohlert
On Columbus…
I think that they are in a really good way that I really enjoy. So I enjoyed the preparation, I enjoyed the style of play, which they try to bring out. And I think just the situation from last year they were really young, and now to this year, players get more mature. Players understand the competition a little bit more, and I think they did that. So the one other good move on the transfer market and to bring the one other guy who was a little bit more experienced, and I think they just have a good lineup, a good squad, a good idea, a good coach, and it will be a challenge. It will be a challenge to face these guys again. I think in the first games, we did that really well. But again, it comes down to what I just said, every situation, every match day, is a challenge in this league, and we have to make sure that we perform on our top level to compete against a really good team.
On midfielder Deven Cadigan…
Devin Cadigan right now is playing really good in his position, like kind of how he dictates our rhythm, and how he's connecting our parts as a team. I think that's really impressive.
On improving the team’s start to matches…
I think everything like, definitely, it's a bit different circumstance, because we have still a few moving pieces, players who are not with us in training sessions during the week, and then they show up and play for us on the weekend. So I think that's the biggest kind of disconnection, in some ways, from some players, because the way we want to play is also about connections and getting a feeling for your teammate. And when these little connections are not there, especially in the first half, then in some ways, it needs a little adjustment, a little tweak, perhaps in half time to get the picture right. And that was twice the case. And yes, we feel good about ourselves, that we are able to push into the next gear and to punch back from a first half again, which is not bad, but it’s just our own standard, what we put on ourselves. So I think in the end, it comes down to a lot of moving pieces, and sometimes it's the case that you need the second longer to align everyone on the same idea. But, yeah, I think that's another bigger problem for us. Because I think all the other games we were strong over 90 minutes. And again, I really want to highlight the first half. Is not the bad first half, but in our idea, I just mentioned that it's not our expectation in a way of just trying to be 90% of our full potential. It's really important for us to show up from the first whistle and being there, being present, and being the dominant team in every phase of the game. And when we look back on the Cincinnati game, there was perhaps the one other situation too much for Cincinnati and big transition moments where we want to be just be clinical, we want to be clear in that we want to solve that early before the situation actually happens. And I think we were more reactive instead of being proactive and preparing that situation before it's actually happening.
Red Bull New York Midfielder Deven Cadigan
On first season as a professional…
I think it's a lot of lessons being learned through the first six games, I think, just on the field, just everything around the speed of play and in just a little things tactically that I've learned, and I think the coaching staff has done a really good job with helping me adjust to really everything. Like Dom (Wohlert) and Johnny (Rhodes) have done an amazing job to just adjust my mind, especially during preseason, to get me ready for the season. So it's been a really good start.
On Head Coach Dominik Wohlert…
He's a very fun coach to be around. I think he brings a really good energy around the meetings, around the sessions, and makes it very enjoyable. But when it's time to work, it's very intense, and make sure everyone's focused and it gets everyone to the best of their abilities, but it's also like a great time. So it's really good balance between having fun, enjoying being with each other, and getting the work done, improving as players and everything. So it's been a really good start, honestly excellent.
On midfield partnership with midfielder Nate Worth…
I would say I learned a lot from him. I think he does a really good job of being that leader on the team and kind of talking to the younger players, especially with me being the six and him being the eight. He just tells me, like, where he wants the ball, and how do I get on the ball more to help him? So it's just, really just helping out each other. And I think that relationship been built off the field for me just to understand what he wants and how to help him, especially with him being higher up the field. I think he's done a really good job of giving me the confidence and trusting me as the six. And it's my first six games as a professional, but he's trusting me throughout so it's been really good with him.
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