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RECAP: RBNY, NYCFC Draw in Hudson River Derby, 1-1
Saturday night saw Red Bull New York and New York City FC finish another edition of the Hudson River Derby with a 1-1 draw. By every metric, Saturday’s match was a game of two halves.
Jorge Ruvalcaba scored from point-blank range in a dominant opening half. The final 45 was all NYCFC, and Andrés Perea scored early, putting pressure on throughout.
It was another set-piece goal that got NYCFC on the board.
The fourth time that type of goal has been scored in two games against City.
“First half, really, really good, on top in every way, score a really good goal, give away next to nothing. Second half, yeah, we know that in a big game they’re going to push and respond, try to change a little bit, and one of the things that we have to continue to work on is our ability to defend set pieces.” Red Bull head coach Michael Bradley said after the match.
“They’re able to get back to one, and obviously, at that point, both teams are pushing. I thought we were still going to find a way to get the winner. We have a few good advantages, a few good chances, but overall, like I said, very, very proud of the team.”
Overloading First Half
Red Bull entered the match in a fairly standard 4-3-3 formation. Justin Che made his first start since returning from injury, lining up next to Dylan Nealis as Center backs.
Ronald Donkor went the full 90 minutes for a third straight game.
Cade Cowell started and played his first full match since the season opener versus Orlando City SC.
The U.S. Open Cup match was a game of City getting corner kick after corner kick. Saturday was the same, but in favor of Red Bull. The home side at Sports Illustrated Stadium had five corner kicks to NYCFC’s zero in the first 45 minutes.
RBNY were much the better team in an abrasive first half. NYCFC’s defense was constantly pressed back into its own half. Captain Emil Forsberg had the game’s first chance in the eighth minute. Cade Cowell picked out the Red Bull midfielder in the NYCFC area, but a well-timed NYCFC block forced the ball out for a corner.
For all the control Red Bull New York exerted on the game, the home side struggled to create convincing chances in the final third. Matthew Dos Santos and Ronald Donkor played a back-and-forth in the 30th minute, ending with the defender near the end line and playing the ball into the box right into the waiting hands of Matt Freese. A few minutes later, Forsberg played a ball through the defense to Donkor, who only needed to beat Freese. His shot went right at Freese, who extended himself on a slide to keep it out.
Donkor visibly fell to the ground in frustration after that; the midfielder, who has been having a stellar season so far, said he tried his best to put it behind him.
“When I missed that chance, in the moment, it was in the back of my head. However, if I keep that in my mind, I don’t think I can play really well.”
The goal finally came in the 44th minute. New York is playing out the back and finding Ronald Donkor in the middle of the field. A long pass linked up with Cade Cowell on the right side, who got past his covering defender. He crossed in looking for Julian Hall, but coverage kept the ball in chaos in front of the goal. Hall, Freese, and defenders all collided, leaving Jorge Ruvalcaba to finish the loose ball in front of the line.
His fifth goal of 2026 made it 1-0, but Red Bull probably should have had more. Something that was going to bite them.
City Counter Hard
New York City head coach Pascal Jansen made significant changes in the second half. Malachi Jones entered the game after the break, replacing Hannes Wolf, and Nico Fernandez moved out wide. Suddenly, the visitors were on the front foot. Red Bull was being stretched in the back. The first half was RBNY playing the ball around the north end of the field. Now, it was City’s turn in front of their strong away contingent.
Within the first minute, Jones almost made it 1-1. He shot the ball just over the Red Bulls’ crossbar after crossing the top of the box from the left side. Just his presence was an issue for Red Bull.
City broke through in the 52nd minute. Fernández Mercau won a free kick near the right corner of the box, with RBNY’s Forsberg arguing with the referee that he should be closer to the box. Maybe that space paid off.
The Argentine played the set piece into the box, where it was headed in by Andrés Perea just in front of the goal to level the score.
Like Red Bull, NYCFC should have had more goals in their half of dominance. In the 56th, Perea ran down the right and sent a ball into the box that should have been easy to handle. Instead, RBNY keeper Ethan Horvath slid and spilled the ball, leaving it live for Jones. The returning Justin Che needed to slide to keep the shot out of the net, clearing it off the line.
For the remainder of the half, Red Bull tried to re-establish their control of the game. But NYC continued to create chances, intercept passes, and come close to scoring. The Red Bull continued to play a high line, and NYCFC continued to exploit it.
Another Mercau free kick in the 73rd minute nearly put NYCFC ahead, but it rang off the far post, unable to find a needed final touch. Unable to find the luck and be a little more to the right. RBNY’s Adri Mehmeti nearly took the lead back in the 78th when he sent a chance off a free kick just over the crossbar.
But NYCFC had the game’s last great chance in the 82nd when Nico Cavallo sent a ball from the end line into the box, where Jones sent his shot wide left.
“All credit to Malachi,” NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen said after the game.
“He alone could have scored two or three goals and killed the game, but he was a major difference in the second half.”
Moralez Injured, No NYCFC Update
Separate from all the rest of the game was a moment midway through the first half.
In the 35th minute, longtime NYCFC midfielder Maxi Moralez challenged RBNY defender Justin Che for the ball at midfield. The lunge appeared to twist his left leg, and he went down.
Moralez was seen grabbing his knee and collapsing to the ground in clear distress.
The non-contact injury kept Moralez down for a few minutes. While he was able to stand with help from team staff, he was placed on a stretcher and taken off the field in the 39th minute.
Moralez, 39, has been with City since 2017, minus a single year in 2023, when he played in Argentina. He has started each of NYCFC’s last 48 regular-season and playoff games. Jansen had no update after the match, but considering the player’s history with leg injuries, it is something to be concerned about.
Red Bull captain Emil Forsberg was asked about the moment after the game.
“All the best for Maxi. It was sad, very sad. Hopefully, it’s not too bad, and he can come back very soon.”
A Good Derby
Minus the injury, Saturday was a phenomenal edition of the Hudson River Derby.
A game where a pull-apart scrum in the first 20 or so minutes happens shows there’s hate again. Raul Gustavo and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty were both shown yellow cards in the 24th minute. Rutty clipped Gustavo, the RBNY stood over the NYCFC player, who immediately stood up, and the two went face-to-face. Matt Freese even ran into the fray.
After the match, Ronald Donkor said it was the best with a smile and hesitation.
“I don’t like those guys. I don’t like them.”
Simple. Sublime.
Served full of derby emotions.
The away contingent of NYCFC fans made the upper decks of Sports Illustrated Stadium shake. The home fans were loud throughout. No official attendance figures were provided by Red Bull, but the crowd appeared to be under 20,000. Maybe somewhere around 17k? Possibly a disappointing number but still a great crowd atmosphere.
The draw sees both clubs remain in strong playoff positions. The table remains the same in the East; City is in fifth, and Red Bull is in sixth. Equal on points but separated by tiebreakers, with Charlotte FC right behind them both. One game remains for both teams before the FIFA World Cup break. That result will hold for two full months before Major League Soccer resumes in late July.
Red Bull will travel to Kansas City to play Sporting KC next Saturday.
NYCFC will make a trip to Columbus for the US Open Cup Quarterfinal on Wednesday, before visiting Nashville to end the first half of the season.
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