Chris Armas: “The mentality was right.” (FrontRowSoccer.com Photo)

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Chris Armas certainly liked what he saw in the Red Bulls’ 2-0 victory over Atletico Pantoja Wednesday night.

The head coach was impressed with the way his team performed in the Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 game at Estadio Felix Sanchez.

“We feel good about coming on the road in this competition,” Armas said. “The mentality was right. Sticking to the game plan of how we wanted this thing to look tonight, and we stuck to that in many ways.”

Not only do the Red Bulls return to Red Bull Arena with a two-goal advantage, but with two vital away goals. Away goals are counted as double if a a tie-breaker is needed to determine which team moves onto the quarterfinals. New York hosts the Dominican side Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m.

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Video courtesy of the Red Bulls’ Facebook Page

“I think that was a really professional and really mature performance from everyone,” said Royer, who scored the insurance goal in the second half.

“They were up for it. They were up for it in every way,” Armas added. “Understood from the beginning what type of game they’d be in.”

The Red Bulls used 10 starters from their final match of last season. So, while the team was far from mid-season form, they understood each other. You could see with the dominance the visitors enjoyed during the 90-plus minutes.

“Experience, it matters in tournaments,” Armas said. “We’ve amassed some good experiences along the way in MLS and in Champions League.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.