Bragging rights in the Hudson River Derby might be secondary given the precarious nature of the playoff positioning for New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls when the teams convene Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
NYCFC begin the week in eighth and own the goal differential tiebreaker over ninth-place Cincinnati since they have outscored opponents 39-33, while Cincinnati has been outscored 59-52. New York City heads into Friday 1-3-4 over the past eight matches. The Pigeons earned their first win since July 25 on Saturday with a 2-0 victory at Real Salt Lake, when Nicolas Fernandez and Luighi scored on either side of the halftime break. The Red Bulls sit in 10th and are two points behind NYCFC and Cincinnati while carrying a minus-15 goal differential. New York is attempting to win consecutive matches for just the third time this season and the first time since May 9-13. Like their rivals, the Red Bulls ended a lengthy winless rut Saturday with a 1-0 victory at Columbus.
NYCFC trail seventh-place Philadelphia by one point and sixth-place Orlando by two points, and those teams also have nine games remaining. Ronald Donkor broke the stalemate in the 89th minute with his second goal of the year.
Coaches Prepare for Intense Derby Showdown
NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen emphasized the importance of maintaining control ahead of the upcoming derby against the Red Bulls. “It’s a derby, it’s emotional, means a lot to our fans from both sides. So it’s going to be an intense game no matter what,” he stated. Jansen noted that the team has found a decent balance in their play but must stick to their game plan to secure a positive result.
Meanwhile, Red Bulls coach Michael Bradley expressed confidence following a productive week on the road. “We feel really good that now in this week-long road trip we take four points, two shutouts,” he said. Bradley aims to leverage this momentum as they head into the derby, looking to capitalize on their recent performance.
