(Photo Credit: NYCFC)
A month and a week after one of the most lopsided matches in Major League Soccer history, New York City FC will again host its bitter rival New York Red Bulls for the fifth ever time seeking what it has from the very first meeting — its first win in the series.
The Red Bulls have dominated the Hudson River Derby since its inception in 2015, NYCFC’s first year in the league, winning all four contests by a combined margin of 14-2, its 7-2 lead blown up by the historic 7-0 thrashing at Yankee Stadium on May 21.
Given the history between the sides, the visitors enter the House that Babe Ruth built as favorites once again, but that comes purely based on previous results and not current form. After building on the biggest win of the 2016 MLS season with two wins at Red Bull Arena — a 3-0 win over Toronto and a 2-0 win over Seattle in league play with a 1-0 win over the Rochester Rhinos’ in U.S. Open Cup play sandwiched in between — NYRB has failed to win any of its last three contests.
First came a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake in Utah, then a 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew — the team that ended their season last year — before a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union Wednesday knocked them out of the US Open Cup.
Meanwhile, NYCFC has recovered the ground it lost on its cross-river rivals upon dropping another 4 points at home on top of the 3 it lost in the derby.
The Blues gave up a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw to Orlando City in the next game after the derby, with David Villa missed penalty that would’ve put them up 3-0 with 20 minutes to go dooming them to another home disappointment.
The home woes continued four days later as NYCFC wasted another lead in a 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake. The Blues couldn’t even buy any luck in the U.S. Open Cup, losing 1-0 to NASL rival New York Cosmos.
But things got back on track three days later at Yankee Stadium, where NYCFC earned its second win at home in 10 attempts, thrashing the Eastern Conference-leading Union 2-0. The Blues took the momentum of the win over to the west coast, where it defeated the Seattle Sounders by the same scoreline a week later.
NYCFC’s run could be traced back to a pair of changes to the starting XI that have made all the difference for Patrick Vieira’s side — the entrances of Jack Harrison and Frank Lampard.
Lampard made his first start of the season against the Union after missing 12 games to a calf injury. His impact was immediate as he opened the scoring eight minutes in.
The former Chelsea midfielder also got NYCFC on the scoresheet in Seattle, putting a controversial goal past Stephen Frei as the match approached halftime.
Before Lampard was scoring openers, however, Harrison was scoring debut goals. After making his professional debut in the 7-0 derby, the rookie out of Wake Forest got the nod for his first ever start against Real Salt Lake.
He grabbed the opportunity by the horns, putting in a shift worthy of a Man of the Match award which culminated in his first career goal to open the scoring in the 56th minute.
His side couldn’t capitalize on his debut goal, but his first ever assist — a lovely backheel pass to David Villa after a blistering run on the counter-attack — gave the Blues a cushion it managed to hold en route to a massive win.
In addition to being in solid form at the same time its opposition is lacking form and having two players establish themselves in the starting XI since the last derby, NYCFC has also fixed a long-standing issue its faced all season — holding leads. The sample size is small with just two matches, but the signs are positive.
If the Blues could build on the way they’ve been playing since the two-week Copa America break ended, this Hudson River Derby could see a result it’s never had before.
Follow Brian Fonseca (@briannnnf) on Twitter for updates on New York City FC.
