Following a match-winning debut for New York Red Bulls, Estonian midfielder Joel Lindpere has received praise from players and coaches alike.

The 28-year old netted the only goal in the 1-0 win over Chicago Fire on Saturday and his performance received plenty of adulation, especially from full-back Jeremy Hall.

"He's a friggin' pit bull out there,'' said Hall. "Offensively and defensively, he links up so well and does so many things for us in settling the team down.''

Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe was also very complimentary of the former Flora Tallinn and Tromso player.

"He's the player, he's close to being a No. 10 because he can be the player from central midfield who can go for the killer passes, fine passes; but he will score goals for us too,'' said Backe. "He's an absolute hard worker. His work rate is phenomenal. He kept going for 90 minutes…I'm a little bit surprised no other teams in Europe picked him up when he was out of contract."

Lindpere added that he felt completely comfortable in the centre of midfield for the Red Bulls and also stated that the feeling amongst the competition amongst the playing squad would be good for the team.

I like this position. I have played many (other places) in this position before, only not in my last club. I try to keep on going like this,'' Lindpere said. "I think we have many good central midfielders. We have a good competition inside the team, and everybody should work harder because of this."