Chris Armas: “Of course, you want to get little victories out of this but we found some victories within the game.” (FrontRowSoccer.com Photo)
TUCSON, Ariz. — It might not have been the result he was looking forward, but Chris Armas was happy with the Red Bulls’ 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo in the Visit Tucson Sun Cup on Saturday night.
“Of course, you want to get little victories out of this but we found some victories within the game,” the Red Bulls head coach said.
“My impressions of the game were mostly positive. I think nights like this and games like this, where there are people in the stands and the intensity is there feels like a real MLS game. They [these types of games] reveal a lot about ourselves and what we can take away from that is we are pretty clear about what we are doing. Therefore, we can be proud of guys pushing minutes.”
Armas gave thumb’s up to “positive performances” from center back Tim Parker, goalkeeper Ryan Meara and midfielder Sean Davis, who “were excellent on the night.” The Red Bulls said the trio showed “real leadership, real quality of what they were doing.”
“In the end, if you talk about goals we scored, we created a bunch of chances, we did not give up much.” Armas added.
Midfielder Josh Sims replaced Kaku at halftime.
“He just got here a few days ago and he is getting going right away,” Armas said. “We are pushing him hard and he is pushing himself hard. We were capping both of their minutes tonight. They each split the game essentially and both had some really interesting moments. What I would say with both of those guys and the rest of the group is that there is a big commitment level within this team and the players are saying it. They are feeling it, they are experiencing it and it is fun to watch.”
Meara was happy with the team defense.
“I think there was a lot more good than bad,” he said. “I think we can be happy with that performance. Obviously you want the result always, but I think defensively we were very good and in the attacking third we created a lot of chances. As we get more games and minutes under our belts, we will finish those chances off, but I think we can be happy with the performance as this is something to build on.”
