Red Bulls Stop NYCFC in New York Derby at Yankee Stadium
By Howard Goldin
The long awaited first New York City meeting between the New York Red Bulls and NYCFC took place on late Sunday afternoon at the pitch at Yankee Stadium.
Despite the pre‐match hoopla, it was not the first of the New York Derby matches in 2015. NYC visited the Red Bulls at their arena in Harrison, New Jersey on May 10. The visitors were edged 2‐1. That loss continued a lengthy NYCFC winless streak, which did not end until June 6 with a 3‐1 win over the Philadelphia Union.
In a non‐league match on June 17, NYC traveled to Shuart Stadium on the campus of Hofstra University, where they bowed to the Cosmos after two tied overtime periods in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup.
Those previous matches did not lower the intensity of interest in Sunday’s match as Yankee Stadium was sold out with a huge crowd of 48,047. Both coaches spoke of the importance of the importance of the very large attendance.
Jessie Marsch of the Red Bulls complimented his club’s followers, “We couldn’t have asked for more. They were fantastic.” After the contest, NYC’s Jason Kreis said of his club’s performance, “It was an opportunity lost to win over the fans.”
NYC, familiar with the nuances of their home pitch, took an early lead with a goal in the sixth minute as Thomas McNamara scored with assists by Andrew Jacobson and Mix Diskerud. That goal would be the last from the home side as the momentum of the match changed.
Another goal was not scored by either side in the first half, but both coaches noted a change. Marsch remarked, “It [match] probably settled down in the 25th minute. Then we started to push...We thought we had a size advantage and took advantage of it.” Kreis agreed, ‘I think the second half was a continuation of the end of the first half.”
The Red Bull duo that combined for the winning goal in the match on May 10 did so again on Sunday in the second minute of the second half. Bradley Wright‐ Phillips scored on an assist by Sacha Kljestan.
The visitors went ahead five minutes later as Chris Duvall scored. In the 72nd minute, the Red Bulls scored a season high third goal as Matt Miazga was set up by Kljestan. Miazga, who came up through the Red Bulls Academy, was very happy with his goal, “I wanted to contribute. Luckily, I was able to.”
Krteis was unusually critical of his club’s play, “it was the first time we didn’t get an honest effort from all our players. We scored too early.” He believed the early goal created an attitude of “complacency and comfort” in his team.
He also named as reasons for the loss, the early removal of injured defender Chris Wingert and fatigue caused by the heat and humidity.
The exciting New York rivalries have not yet ended this year. The red Bulls will be hosting the Cosmos in a U.S. Open Cup match on Wednesday. Marsch alluded to it in the post‐game press conference, “We will enjoy the win and think about how we can transition to Wednesday. We’re not taking that game lightly.” NYCFC will visit the Red Bulls in Harrison for a final regular season match in August.
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