“New York Red Bulls Win Hudson River Derby, Leaving NYCFC Without Answers As A Visitor”

“There is no worse splinter than the one from the stick itself”, goes the saying. The offensive midfielder Omir Fernandez -born in The Bronx, the place of origin of New York City FC– scored in the 76th minute of the ‘reborn’ Red Bulls’ 1-0 win at the Hudson River Derby against the sky-blue team on Saturday night at the Red Bull Arena.

A week ago RBNY seemed mired in disgrace, installed in last position in the Eastern Conference. But since the departure of the bullfighting club of the Austrian coach Gerhard Stuber many things changed. The new interim coach Troy Lesesnemanaged to lead the red team to two victories against two of their biggest rivals in less than a week: first, with the victory in the US Open Cup against DC United (their historical adversary) and this Saturday against New York City FC (their neighbor and most recent opponent).

Without showy football -although patient and systematic- New York Red Bulls manages to get out of the last place in the Eastern Conference, a well into which Toronto FC now falls. The sea of ​​mouth taste of the era commanded by Struber may be a thing of the past.

DISAPPOINTMENT FOR A NYCFC WITHOUT ANSWERS AS A VISITOR

The delirium of the Red Bulls players and their fans contrasted with the blow that Saturday’s loss meant for New York City FC. Not only was it a loss in one of the fiercest rivalry matches in the entire MLSbut it reflects the lack of reaction of the group trained by Nick Cushing as a visitor. The sky-blue team failed to win a single game outside the confines of the Yankee Stadium or of Citi Field (both in New York City) so far in the 2023 campaign.

The last few games have been especially bad for NYCFC, with this losing streak:

. Toronto FC 1 vs New York City FC 0 (BMO Field, April 29)
. Charlotte FC 3 vs New York City FC 2 (Bank of America Stadium, 6 de mayo)
. FC Cincinnati 1 vs New York City FC 0 (TQL Stadium, 10 de mayo – U.S. Open Cup)
. New York Red Bulls 1 vs New York City FC 0 (Red Bull Arena, 13 de mayo)

Next Wednesday night, New York City FC will hit the road again to face Orlando City SC at Exploria Stadium, for Matchday 13 of MLS 2023.

The sky-blue team had established itself as one of the leaders of the Eastern Conference, but right now they have 15 points, three units above Red Bulls and Toronto FC, the last two classified.

“We didn’t do enough to win the game”, acknowledged a visibly frustrated Cushing after the defeat. “We have enough talent to create scoring chances, but we need to work on chemistry and balance now. … I take full responsibility for this loss, but we have to be patient with this group.”