Credentials•News•NYCFC•Red Bulls
RECAP: Tired Red Bulls Give NYCFC Needed Win, 2-0
The first Hudson River Derby of 2025 was blue, as New York City FC downed the New York Red Bulls at Citi Field.
Over 30,000 fans, many backing NYCFC, saw their slumping side outplay an overworked RBNY unit. Goals in each half, one goal of the matchday contender and another caused by a goalkeeper error, gave City the 2-0 win.
The New York Red Bulls looked unable to adapt.
Head coach Sandro Schwarz was quick to praise the opponents, including head coach Pascal Jansen.
“(NYCFC” had so many moments in their build up to create these situations after losing ball,” the coach said.
“They had then transition chances the first half, [Alonso] Martinez and [Maxi] Moralez, our rest defense was not good in this organization, and they won. They deserve then to win after that and we have to look for our tactical points and also from our mental our reactions. This is what we need.
First Half
Rotation is crucial for both RBNY and NYCFC. Both teams have been playing midweek and weekend games since the start of the month. The Red Bulls entered in, swapping Dennis Gjenngar in for Cameron Harper and Peter Stroud for Daniel Edelman. Raheem Edwards also slotted in on the backline for the suspended Omar Valencia.
The game marked the first Hudson River Derby since RBNY beat NYCFC in last year’s MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Red Bulls were on the back foot from the jump. Alonso Martínez is, even on a slumping New York City squad, a dangerous player. He proved that multiple times in the first half. Multiple times, the RBNY defense was caught off by a counter run by the Costa Rican.
Eventually, that speed paid off. The opening goal came in the 13th minute, when Justin Haak found Martinez at the top of the box. The entire Red Bull team was seemingly shifted toward the left side of the field. Perhaps thinking he would try to dribble in, Martinez was given space at the top of the box. The Goal of the Week-contender, curled into the top left corner, past a diving Carlos Coronel.
The Red Bulls controlled the possession, but did little with the ball throughout most of the game. This was doubly true in the first half as RBNY only earned three shots, with none on target. The best of the bunch was an Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting shot from a tight angle in the box in the 21st minute, which went wide right of the NYCFC goal.
City pushed the Bulls’ defense, and forced Coronel into making multiple saves to keep the game close. Defenders Noah Eile and Sean Davis were shown yellow cards, meaning they would be out for the team’s next league match against D.C. United next weekend.
Second Half
Despite being down a goal, the Red Bulls didn’t seem motivated entering the final 45 minutes. A nice shot by Gjenngar three minutes in was quickly forgotten in the 50th minute. NYCFC’s offense pushed Coronel out of his box, giving the ball away to Martinez. He passed it off to Maxi Moralez who juked two defenders and a desperate Coronel to score on the empty goal.
That second goal was a nail in the Red Bulls’ chances. Despite holding the ball far more, the team only managed seven shots in the second half, with one on target.
That one save by Matt Freese was the Gjenngar shot in the 48th minute.
“We have to be a little bit more clever. See how they understand defensively when we come into the last third and create moments from that,” said captain Emil Forsberg after the game.
“I think we created, we had some moments in the first half as well, around the box, put the ball into the box a little bit more, see what happens. Play a little bit quicker sometimes. Sometimes, you just have to bring the ball into the box, and something will happen.”
The Red Bulls’ substitutions as the game wore on, including replacing Forsberg for Julian Hall, signalled a team that was ready for the final whistle.
RBNY is now under .500 for the season with five wins, three draws, and six losses.
Currently, that’s good enough for 10th in the Eastern Conference.
Analysis
In a battle of middling New York teams, NYCFC finally had the momentum swing their way. A side that hadn’t scored a goal in three games, including against a lower division team and then-winless CF Montreal, was due to score two.
For the Red Bulls, the frustration is growing, evident by head coach Sandro Schwarz’s demeanor in the postgame press conference.
“For me, (the number of fixtures) is not the reason that we are tired or something like that,” Schwarz said after the game, visibly shrugging and noting the number of changes his lineup has gone through.
“That’s the reality. We are in a lot of moments, especially in the final third, that we don’t play quick enough (and) we don’t play aggressively in our ball position.”
For a Red Bulls team that hasn’t shown it can score goals consistently. The outlier of the LA Galaxy result is just a team clicking against the league’s worst side. Red Bull looks exactly like a team that has played five games in 14 days with little to no rotation. Tired, unable to focus, and losing players more and more to suspension.
The team has zero wins away from home. After 14 games, that isn’t just bad luck. It’s an inability to generate momentum and offense. Emil Forsberg needs help developing plays in the midfield. Lewis Morgan will aid in that, but the Scottish international isn’t a fix-all. Fans will realize that soon enough.
The Red Bulls’ focus now turns to the coming week. On Wednesday, the team will host FC Dallas at Sports Illustrated Stadium in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. Of note, no Red Bull players will be suspended for that game. Then on Saturday, the Atlantic Cup heads to the nation’s capital.
The Red Bulls will try to avenge the 2-1 defeat earlier this season against D.C. United when they head to Audi Field.
“We have to analyze the next couple of days, and then prepare very seriously for the game on Wednesday, and then be ready against this game, because this is a do-or-die game,” Schwarz said on the Open Cup against Dallas.
“This is competition. This is when you win the game, then it’s good, and you’re on the next round. When you lose the game, then you are out. So, we have to do everything at the end from the mental side.”
PHOTO: —
Discover more from New York Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Credentials News NYCFC Red Bulls