Alex Ring (right): ,”I think we have to be honest with ourselves and take responsibility for today, look in the mirror.” (Noah K. Murray/USA TODAY Sports)
By Michael Lewis
FrontRowSoccer.com Editor
HARRISON, N.J. — Alex Ring did not mince his words.
After New York City FC was routed by the Red Bulls, the defensive midfielder said his team deserved to lose the game.
“We have no excuses,” he said in a forlon City locker room at Red Bull Arena. “We tried to come here and play a little bit. We didn’t bring our heart into the game and bring the energy and that’s what happens.”
When pressed why something like that would happen, the Finnish international replied, “I think we have to be honest with ourselves and take responsibility for today, look in the mirror. We know the truth. It was a [crap] game from us and we deserved to lose.”
NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira said exactly say he was embarrassed by his team’s performance, but he did called the game “a nightmare.”
“Look around, of course,” Ring said. “Everyone knows we can do much better. This is a game we have to forget. We just didn’t bring our passion, our energy we used to bring. We thought we could play flick-ons and [crap] like that and this happens.
City cracked under the Red Bulls’ high pressure as the hosts tallied twice in the opening four minutes before adding a third goal before halftime.
“I think the second half was better, but it was too late,” Ring said. “We [screwed] up in the first half. That can’t happen again. We have to learn our lesson from this game. We deserve to lose. Like the coach said, this was an embarrassment. We have to take responsibility, forget about this game over the next couple of days and see this never happens again.”
Well, it happened in Portland three weeks ago when the Timbers recorded a 3-0 victory.
“It’s difficult,” Ring said. “We know how to bounce back. We have to be honest with ourselves today. Today was a bad game for us. We can’t have too many this season if we want to achieve the success that we want. It’s as simple as that.”
NYCFC will have an opportunity to bounce back at the LA Football Club next Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
