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RECAP: Julian Hall, Red Bull Beat New York City FC in Hudson River Derby, 1-0
Red Bull New York and New York City met at Yankee Stadium on Friday night, with NYCFC looking for an unbeaten 2026 in the Hudson River Derby.
Instead, 18-year-old Julian Hall scored against USMNT keeper Matt Freese off a second-half error, giving RBNY a critical win.
In possibly the final Hudson River Derby at Yankee Stadium, with NYCFC set to move to Queens next year, the rival Red Bull stands tall. RBNY takes home the Hudson River Derby trophy and stays competitive in the MLS Eastern Conference.
It’s the first time since May that the team has won two games in a row.
For City, the loss pushes them back down the table and hurts the momentum the team gained after last weekend’s win in Utah.
“It’s a big win. Really, really important three points when you get to the end of the year, and you’re coming down the stretch, and you play teams in your conference who are around you, could be a little bit above, could be a little bit below,” RBNY head coach Michael Bradley said afterward.
“Those become important points. So obviously you combine that with a derby, and it’s a big thing, so we’re really proud of the group.”
Hall to the Rescue
It was a big week for Julian Zakrzewski Hall. On Thursday, he and teammate Adri Mehmeti were selected to the U.S. Men’s National Team camp during the September and October window. On Saturday, in front of USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino, Hall scored on his future teammate.
In the 57th minute, following a blocked Andrés Perea shot and clearance, New York City defender James Sands collected a ball in his own end. He tried to pass back to NYCFC keeper Matt Freese, but didn’t put enough energy into it. Julian Hall raced onto the ball as Freese came out of the box to try and defend. The forward rounded Freese, who tried to dive to stop it (which would have been a red card). Hall easily slotted a right-footed shot into the empty net to make it 1-0.
The goal was Hall’s first since May, ending a slump that has been noticeable during the team’s post-World Cup struggles.
“It felt great. Obviously, I haven’t scored in a minute, so it was nice to get back to that feeling, and I’m just happy for myself and the entire team because we fought really hard to get that win,” Hall said afterward.
Hall also became the youngest player in MLS history to score 10 goals in a single season at 18 years and 178 days old.
NYCFC Offense Can’t Capitalize
The Hudson River Derby has seen plenty of goals scored in its lifetime. From RBNY winning 7-0 in the early days of the rivalry to NYCFC winning 3-1 in the U.S. Open Cup earlier this season. This was not one of those games.
New York City was on the receiving end of most of the chances, especially early on.
Nicolás Fernández Mercau opened the scoring in the 5th minute. A long shot from outside the box was a few inches left of scoring his 16th goal of the season. In the 16th minute, a City corner found Aiden O’Neill alone in the box, but his deadly shot was blocked by RBNY defender Tim Parker. A few minutes later, Mercau laid up a pass to Andrés Perea, who nearly got his fourth career goal against the Red Bulls. However, Ethan Horvath made a diving save to keep the score level.
Throughout the first half, New York City also had no issue getting up the sides of the field. On multiple occasions, the home side played nearly to the end line, trying to pass back into the box for a finish. Either no one was there to finish, or Red Bull had a player available to block a threatening, up-close attempt.
Physicality was the name of the game too. In total, 29 fouls and five yellow cards, with four cautions coming in the first half.
After the match, head coach Michael Bradley said:
“Some of (the fouls in the first half) are fouls where we’re being aggressive, but we’re not doing it well. We’re a little bit late; we take the wrong angle,” Bradley said.
“(In the second half), we were having more success. We were coming away with more plays; we were collecting more loose balls.”
Bradley also noted after the match that the referee didn’t have an easy job working a rivalry game. However, setting the tone early with those yellow cards affected the game.
Seeing Out The Game
After taking the lead, Red Bull leaned heavily into their defensive structure. Horvath and his backline, anchored by Tim Parker and Julián Bazán, consistently impeded NYCFC’s attack as the home side pushed up. City head coach Pascal Jansen responded by bringing Alonso Martínez and Bénie Traoré on to try and encourage the attack.
Each substitute had good looks at goal shortly, but players like Parker and Bazán stood in the way. Seven of New York City’s 18 total shots were blocked.
NYCFC had a great opportunity from a free kick in the 81st minute. Mercau headed a high ball from Thiago Martins, but Horvath tipped it over the crossbar. Traoré nearly found the equalizer during stoppage time. Alone in front of goal, Horvath made a point-blank save to keep his team in the lead and earn a fourth clean sheet.
Playoff Picture Update
As of now, Red Bull is back in the MLS Cup Playoff Field. RBNY sit in eighth place, where, if the season ended, they’d be in a play-in match. NYCFC is still in the field as well, sitting in ninth. They’d play against Red Bull in the wildcard match.
The full slate of MLS’s Saturday slate will change those places. But it does go to show something. Something we already know. The Eastern Conference is so wide open that every result can have a drastic shift.
With eight matches left in the regular season, RBNY will be challenged. Two home matches against Western Conference teams are next.
St. Louis City SC will be at Sports Illustrated Stadium next Saturday night.
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