Red Bulls, New York City to Clash in Playoffs for First Time
The Hudson River Derby will be played one more time in 2024. For the first time ever, the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC will clash in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The two teams will meet in a single elimination match on Saturday, November 23, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The winner of this game will either travel to play Orlando City SC, or host Atlanta United FC in the Conference Final.
Despite a convoluted playoff set-up and superstar Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF being out of the playoffs, Major League Soccer has a potential gold mine on its hands with this game.
It could reignite a rivalry that has somewhat stuttered in recent years and be a huge draw for casual fans.
Wild Set-Up
To reach this point, both New York teams had to achieve huge upsets in the first round.
First, the #7 Red Bulls swept the defending MLS Cup Champion #2 Columbus Crew in two games. Felipe Carballo scored the lone goal in Game 1 in Ohio to stun the hosts. In the next game, Columbus struck first before Dante Vanzeir and Emil Forsberg scored in the second half. The Crew equalized to force penalty kicks, where Carlos Coronel made three straight saves to help the Red Bulls advance.
This year marks the Red Bulls’ first appearance in the Eastern Conference Semifinals since 2018.
#6 New York City also played an Ohio team in the First Round, taking on the heavy-hitting #3 FC Cincinnati in a best-of-three series. After losing Game 1 in Cincinnati, 1-0, City played its home leg of the series at Citi Field in Queens due to the Yankees being in the World Series. Despite the detour, New York blasted FCC behind goals from Alonso MartĂnez, Thiago Martins, and Santiago RodrĂguez to win 3-1.
Game 3 in Ohio, one of four series to reach that far, saw both teams go scores through 90 minutes. In a win-or-go-home penalty kick shootout, Matt Freese made three saves and saw a ball go over the crossbar to help his team advance.
In total, four lower seeds upset teams in the First Round of the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, including both New York teams. While its not good to look ahead, either team will hope #9 Atlanta United FC beats #4 Orlando City SC in their own conference semifinal. A match against Atlanta would be the only way another playoff game is held in the New York area this year.
What this Means
In all due respect, the Hudson River Derby (also known as the New York Derby by some) needs this match. It isn’t just because NYCFC swept the regular season this year. However, neither team has been all that entertaining in recent years. After their MLS Cup win in 2021, NYCFC hasn’t been a consistent team. They didn’t make the playoffs last year and couldn’t crack the top half of the East in 2024.
The Red Bulls, meanwhile, have made the playoffs for 15 straight years but, as mentioned before, haven’t been a playoff threat in some time. Many going into this year’s postseason expected a Columbus sweep against RBNY in the first round. When neither team is particularly good, it’s hard to care about two underachievers fighting one another.
PHOTO: Bennett Awards
However, we’ve seen rivalries explode in the MLS Cup Playoffs, whether it be the 401 Derby between Montreal and Toronto or the matches between Portland and Seattle. Those games are legendary, made careers, and provided lifetime moments for fans. The Hudson River Derby was due for this kind of stage after ten seasons of play.
To recap 2024, New York City FC won the regular season series in dominant fashion over the Red Bulls. The first game at Citi Field ended 2-1 in favor of the hosts, the first time the series had been played in Queens. In RBNY’s home match, City dominated in a 5-1 rout. It was the biggest blue win in the rivalry’s history and shook many in the RBNY fanbase.
It also secured NYCFC the HRD trophy for the first time, something head coach Nick Cushing took much pride in.
However, as RBNY head coach Sandro Schwarz has said multiple times, the playoffs is a new competition. A win in two weeks would be monumental for either side outside of advancing in the tournament.
If New York City wins, it would cap off any doubt that the city is theirs. They have an MLS Cup to their name, they own the rivalry, and any thought the Red Bulls are on their level would be tossed aside.
However, if the Red Bulls win, things get interesting. A win by the red team would, in a way, nullify the regular season losses. While it wouldn’t mean more than winning an MLS Cup, it would be a much-needed sticking point for a team that needs it.
Previous HRDs in Knockout Tournaments
While this is the first time both New York teams will meet in the MLS Cup Playoffs, they are no strangers to knockout competitions. The Red Bulls enjoy a 4-0 record over New York City in games across the U.S. Open Cup and Leagues Cup dating back to 2017.
That first meeting in the 2017 USOC Fourth Round was a narrow win, 1-0, off a Daniel Royer goal in front of 11k fans at RBA. That year was also special for the Red Bulls as they advanced all the way to the national final for only the second time in team history. The following year, the two teams met in the Fourth Round once again, with RBNY cruising to a 4-0 win.
It would be four years and one pandemic later that the HRD took place in America’s national championship. The 2022 Quarterfinals at Red Bull Arena saw Lewis Morgan, Luquinhas, and Omir Fernandez all score in a 3-0 win.
It isn’t just the Open Cup, however. The 2023 Leagues Cup, the first edition of the tournament to feature every team from MLS and Liga MX of Mexico, saw both NY sides advance out of the group stage.
In the Round of 32, again at Red Bull Arena, the Red Bulls advanced thanks to a first half penalty kick from Omir Fernandez to eliminate NYCFC.
Unfortunately, the game is probably best remembered for the clashes between fans outside the arena gates following the final whistle.
PHOTO: Bennett Awards
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