INTO THE BLUE
NYFC finally get better of cross-river rivals
New York’s color wheel is leaning slightly blue.
In a little over a week since New York City FC fell short against the Red Bulls, they did something they never have done, beating their rivals at Red Bull Arena, in a thrilling 2-0 match against the Red Bulls on Saturday afternoon in the latest heated installment of the Hudson River Derby.
NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira alluded to changing the team’s style earlier this week, but he admitted they tinkered too much since their win against Seattle last week.
“We wanted to make them play the long ball and press really high,” said Vieira. “I think players just wanted to win this game so much.”
Unlike the U.S. Open Cup match up last Wednesday, Saturday’s game had NYCFC making the Red Bulls feel uncomfortable playing in their own home. Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles described the differences between games as “apples and oranges” and said NYCFC probably got tired of hearing the same old script, how they’ve won just once in seven matches against their rivals.
Though the Red Bulls beat NYCFC at their own possession game, NYCFC found a way to adjust to the press from the home side, even without midfielder Maxi Moralez, who sat out with injury.
In the 18th minute, NYCFC started their flurry of chances when Robles made a tremendous diving save to swat away NYCFC winger Jack Harrison’s curling effort. Fortunately for NYCFC, it would be a matter of minutes before Harrison found a way to beat Robles.
Standing alone in the Red Bulls box on a counter-attack, Harrison received a perfect pass from NYCFC wingback Ben Sweat, which he bent past Robles for his seventh score on the season to put NYCFC up, 1-0, in the 33rd minute and at half.
Harrison’s goal was just the sixth goal for NYCFC in eight matches against the Red Bulls.
“We managed to win the game because we matched [the Red Bulls’] desire and competitiveness,” said Vieira, whose team won 53 percent of the match’s duels.
Much of the second half mirrored the same from the struggling Red Bulls (23 points), with NYCFC continuously looking calm waiting for their chances. But this time, it didn’t happen on the counter but from a free kick.
Near midfield, NYCFC midfielder Alex Ring lofted a long ball past men in the box, but Sweat was lurking on the back post to somehow float a header over Robles in the 65th minute.
“From an angle like that, I was just trying to put it back post,” said Sweat, who scored his first MLS goal. “I put some spin on it and it went in the back of that net.”
Though NYCFC (30 points) had no problems placing shots on target (6), it took the Red Bulls nearly 80 minutes to register a shot on goal, and when midfielder Alex Muyl was booked for embellishment in the 77th minute, disgusted Red Bulls supporters in the South Ward end showered the field with bottles of beer as fans yelled at referee Alan Kelly, who issued six cards in total.
“[NYCFC] physically put a lot more into the game, which meant that we weren’t able to overrun them like we often do,” Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch said. “It’s a really bad feeling right now to have them celebrate on our home field.”