Red Bulls II Find Playoff Pedigree with Dominant Win

photo from New York Red Bulls

by Anthony J. Merced

Red Bulls II prepared for the playoffs all season and now that they are here, head coach Ibrahim Sekagya is overjoyed with his team's performance following a 4-1 win over Chicago Fire 2. The game which saw New York dominate for most of the fixture, showed just how the high pressure offense has split apart teams in MLS Next Pro.

"Our mentality from the first half was fantastic," said head coach Sekagya. "We knew that we were home. We needed to press high. We got some goals but when we came back in the second half I think we dropped a little bit and they had some chances with the ball. They're young players, what was most important was a win for today."

New York led the game by two goals before the 30th minute, showing their superiority with nearly 60 percent possession through the game. Individual efforts from Ibrahim Kasule also showed the creative nature of the players on the field as well. While most have praised the Ugandan international for his dynamic play, head coach Sekagya has done everything in his power to keep the conversation on the team, where he believes the discussion should remain.

"We don't go into games under one player," said Sekagya. "He has been a good player from the beginning, and there's still a lot to come from him. The most important thing was for the team to start on the front foot and this is what we wanted from the game."

This narrative isn't just something that comes from the coach. The players, including their budding star Kasule, share in the team-first mentality. While he may of scored two goals in his first MLS Next Pro playoff appearance, his mindset was on how successful the team pushed their game plan onto Chicago.

"Everywhere you go, you have to help the team," said Kasule. "I would like to help these players, because they like me, I like them and the coaches I've got to help because they always give me what I need. They're good players and I'm playing with everyone, so it's always a pleasure to play with these guys."

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