QUEENS, N.Y. – NYCFC striker Mounsef Bakrar played the hero, scoring his first goal of the season to defeat New York Red Bulls 2-1 in the first Hudson River Derby of 2024 in Citi Field on Saturday night. The beleaguered striker had troubles scoring in hte past and was quick to rush into the arms of head coach Nick Cushing who has showed support for him throughout the drought.
The first half saw City control the pace of play by creating one-on-one match-ups. While Red Bulls were keen to the challenge, it kept them on their back feet and unable to spring their own offense. City opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Hannes Wolf got a hold of a pass from youngster Malachi Jones. Wolf buried the close-range effort, sending Citi Field into a frenzy. From there the home team continued to pressure with Red Bulls showing spurts of life through connections between Dante Vanzeir and Cameron Harper.
It was just before the halftime whistle that Red Bulls drew level thanks to a shot from outside the box that beat goalkeeper Matt Freese. New York went into the locker room with momentum, despite being outplayed for long stretching in the first 45 minutes.
The second half was a battle of substitutions which NYCFC showed their superiority. Bakrar’s inclusion in the 58th minute was the difference maker as a pass from Tavon Gray found Bakrar running in on goal. A light tap in later and the Algerian striker was jumping into the arms of his head coach to celebrate the much needed goal.
The remainder of the game became contentious as fouls and cards dotted the finish of the contest. Defender Sean Nealis received a red card just before the final whistle and frustration boiled over with Red Bulls players confronting referees after the game on the field.
For City it is a big win that sees them leap-frog over New York Red Bulls into third place based on head-to-head comparision. It is also their sixth win in seven games, showing that they are not just in form but also a formidable foe for anyone in the Eastern Conference.
Next up for City is a meeting with New England Revolution next Saturday. For Red Bulls it is more than week off as they won’t play again until Wednesday May 29th against Charlotte FC.
STARTING XI:
New York City FC: Freese; Gray, Martins, Risa, O’Toole, Sands, Parks, Rodriguez (72′ Perea), Wolf (90′ Ilenic), Jones (73′ Ojeda), Mijatovic (58′ Bakrar)
New York Red Bulls: Coronel; Duncan (78′ Burke), Nealis, Eile, Tolkin, Harper (46′ Carmona), Amaya (88′ Reyes), Edelman (69′ Gjengaar), Morgan, Manoel, Vanzeir (69′ Forsberg)
SCORING SUMMARY:
4′ (NYCFC) Hannes Wolf assisted by Malachi Jones and Santiago Rodriguez
45′ (New York Red Bulls) Cameron Harper assisted by Sean Nealis
64′ (NYCFC) Mounsef Bakrar assisted by Tavon Gray and Hannes Wolf
DISCIPLINE:
25′ (New York Red Bulls) Cameron Harper – YELLOW CARD
32′ (NYCFC) James Sands – YELLOW CARD
65′ (New York Red Bulls) Frankie Amaya – YELLOW CARD
67′ (New York Red Bulls) Sean Nealis – YELLOW CARD
photo by Jordan Banks