HARRISON, N.J. – New York City FC dominate the New York Red Bulls and sweep the 2024 Hudson River Derby after a 5-1 win at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. The win for City pushes them over the Red Bulls and gives the team momentum heading into the last three games of the season.
The scoring started early as Red Bulls were made to pay for sloppy errors. The first was a pass from goalkeeper Carlos Coronel that went directly to City legend Maxi Moralez. His effory was simple, putting City ahead in the fifth minute. Two minutes later the lead was doubled when an errant pass from Daniel Edelman was seized on by City’s top goal scorer Alonso Martinez. The Costa Rican striker nearly made it three minutes later but hit the cross bar.
Red Bulls did show some life in the 28th minute. A corner kick saw the ball fall to the foot of Dante Vanzeir who scored in consecutive games and was one of the only bright points in the game. City wasted little time getting the goal back when Andres Perea headed a beautiful cross from Tayvon Gray to send to kill off any chances of a Red Bull comeback. Another goal before the halftime whistle from Martinez sealed the deal and gave the away team all of the bragging rights.
Perea added another goal in the 68th minute to add to the embarrassment. While it isn’t the exact same scoreline as 2016, it is City’s biggest win over their crosstown foes since the start of the rivalry. Head coach Nick Cushing can take away the fact that his team has responded after a run that saw them slip to a point where they desperately needed points in New Jersey.
City will remain in Red Bull Arena next week to play FC Cincinnati with a chance to secure their playoff hopes. For Red Bull it is back to the drawing board with two games next week. The first in Toronto and the second in Atlanta. Much of their season’s hopes lie in those games. Should they fail to garner points, they will see themselves in a similar scenario to 2023 where their game against Columbus will matter heavily to their playoff chances.
STARTING XI:
New York Red Bulls: Coronel; Tolkin, Eile, Reyes, D. Nealis (79′ Stroud), Harper (69′ Hall), Edelman (57′ Manoel), Carballo (68′ Donkor), Gjengaar (57′ Forsberg), Morgan, Vanzeir
New York City FC: Freese; Gray, Martins, Haak, O’Toole, Parks (66′ Ojeda), Sands, Perea, Wolf (84′ Fernandez), Martinez (67′ Bakrar), Moralez (79′ Risa)
SCORING SUMMARY:
5′ (NYCFC) Maxi Moralez (2) unassisted
7′ (NYCFC) Alonso Martinez (13) unassisted
28′ (New York Red Bulls) Dante Vanzeir (4) unassisted
30′ (NYCFC) Andres Perea (4) assisted by Tayvon Gray
45′ (NYCFC) Alonso Martinez (14) assisted by Kevin O’Toole
68′ (NYCFC) Andres Perea (5) unassisted
DISCIPLINE:
14′ (New York Red Bulls) Andres Reyes – YELLOW CARD
90′ (New York Red Bulls) Peter Stroud – YELLOW CARD
