The U.S. soccer world continues to digest RB New York’s 3-0 playoff win in Houston that caught out pundits from Anchorage to Miami, but it seems less surprising when you read how New York striker Juan Pablo Angel summarized the game.
“We were physical,” said Angel. “We scored on the chances we created. We defended with our lives. We were a team, a unit. If you go like that, you always have a chance to beat anybody.”
Goalkeeper Danny Cepero modestly described his performance as “a little bit of luck,” but there was very little luck involved in either his saves or the offensive play of Dane Richards, scorer of one goal and instigator of two more. “Every game I try to do the best I can,” Richards said. “Today I was exceptional, I guess.”
“It was a great reward to beat the best balanced team … and the champions,” said canny NY coach Juan Carlos Osorio. Angel, meanwhile, warned that “it’s not over. We know we’re on the doorstep of the big party of the year and we would like to get it right. We have a very difficult challenge ahead.”