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FT: IT’S OVER! NEW YORK CITY WIN THEIR FIRST DERBY MATCH OF 2018! More importantly, with the win, City move into second place in the East. They’re two points ahead of the Red Bulls. The current standings look like this:
- Atlanta 40 points
- New York City 34 points
- New York 32 points
With the summer transfer window opening shortly, New York City have some decisions to make. Do they try to replace the irreplaceable Yangel Herrera? Do they try to get more firepower?
Meanwhile, we’ve got a short week coming up for the Pigeons. They’ll take on Montreal this Wednesday at 7 pm, then play Columbus on Saturday at 7. But for now, they’ll enjoy a well-earned win against their arch rivals. It was a gritty, workmanlike effort. But from a psychological perspective, coming off two brutal losses to the Red Bulls, a win in front of a packed house may be what this team needed.
88’: It’s the final substitution — Sebastian Ibeagha comes on for Jesus Medina. And just as I write that, there’s some emergency defending happening! Finally, the Pigeons clear it.
There will be 4 minutes of stoppage time.
84’: THERE IT IS!!! GOOOOOOALLLL MAXI MORALEZ!!! It’s been a hard, hard road, but finally, the Pigeons break through. Jonathan Lewis put the ball on a dish for Moralez, and the tiny playmaker drilled it home. It’s his seventh goal of the year.
80’: We’ve got roughly 10 minutes to go, plus stoppage time. New York City are pushing for a winner here. You can see the frustration the Red Bulls are feeling here. As I write that, Alex Muyl gets carded for elbowing Alex Callens.
75’: We have our second sub — it’s Jonathan Lewis for Rodney Wallace. Will Lewis be the one to provide a highlight here?
70’: Another corner for New York gets turned away by the Pigeons. The New York defense has been more than equal to the task tonight. Will the offense be able to come up with a moment of magic here?
63’: With that change, New York City’s clawed back into the game. It was a pragmatic change by Torrent, designed to strengthen the defense while still maintaining some degree of offensive fluidity.
57’: We have our first City sub — Ronald Matarrita comes on for Ismael Tajouri-Shradi. Expect City to flow between a 4-3-3 and a 5-3-2 now.
50’: Chris Armas has made some adjustments at half-time. The Red Bulls have started this half on the front foot.
45’: We’re off in the second half!
HT: It’s scoreless at the break. But New York City have to be ruing some missed chances in a half that they largely controlled. Their defense was stout when it needed to be, and their midfield disrupted just about every effort the Red Bulls made at getting going. We’ll see if they can keep control of this match — and who knows, maybe even take the lead!
45’: Oh, what a chance for Chanot! On a corner, the ball gets to his feet. Chanot lashes at it and misses scoring by mere inches.
43’: Close for New York! Sean Johnson stretches out to make the save and deny the Red Bulls on a rare counter. The Pigeons’ back line clears out the ball, but that’s well done by Johnson.
32’: It’s still one-way traffic for New York City. They’ve done a good job of controlling the pace and tempo of the game. But the Red Bulls are solid defensively, and they’re not giving up any easy looks for the Pigeons.
22’: Another corner comes to naught. But New York City have played well in the game’s first 20 minutes, which is encouraging. They’ve got a solid grip on the game; it’s just the final product that’s been lacking.
16’: CHAOS IN THE BOX! Maxi Moralez takes the second corner of the game for New York City, and from there, chaos reigns! The ball pinballs around, the Red Bulls desperately try to clear the line, and finally succeed. Maxim Chanot gets a little banged up in the process, but nothing major.
8’: Oh, how close was Rodney Wallace! Wallace is making his first start in some time on the left, and he very nearly put New York City in front! Except...he slipped in front of an open goal, thanks to the temporary turf laid on the Yankees infield.
5’: Good thing is that New York City look a little more composed this time out. It’s an incredibly low bar, but considering that the Pigeons surrendered a goal in the first couple of minutes of the year’s first Derby game, it’s progress of a sort.
1’: We’re off! It’s a gorgeous summer night here in The Bronx. The Pigeons will hope that it ends gorgeously for them.
Rosters
New York City Starting XI: Johnson; Tinnerholm, Chanot, Callens, Sweat; Ring, Ofori, Medina; Tajouri-Shradi, Wallace, Moralez
Bench: Stuver, Abdul-Salaam, Awuah, Ibeagha, Lewis, McNamara, Matarrita
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: none
- International Duty: MF Rodney Wallace
- Injury: OUT: MF Yangel Herrera (ankle surgery), D Cedric Hountondji (hamstring), F David Villa (right knee injury)
New York Starting XI: Robles, Adams, Davis, Kaku, Lade, Lawrence, Long, Muyl, Parker, Royer, Wright-Phillips
Bench: Meara, Collin, Escobar, Etienne Jr, Kutler, Murillo, Rzatkowski
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: None
- International Duty: None
- Injury: OUT: D - Kyle Duncan (torn right ACL), M - Vincent Bezecourt (MCL sprain); DOUBTFUL: GK - Ryan Meara (knee injury)
Referees: Baldomero Toledo (referee); Peter Malinowski, Gianni Facchini (assistant referees); Marcos Deolivera (4th official); Geoff Gamble (VAR)
How To Watch
Match date & time: July 8th, 2018, 7 p.m. EST
Venue: Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, TX
Online streaming: FOX Sports Go
TV: FS1
Local radio: WNYE 91.5 FM — English (Crooks, Wingert); WADO 1280 AM — Spanish (Abramowitz, Judas).
All-time series: You know the sorry history. The Red Bulls lead the series with eight wins in 12 games. The Pigeons have won just three times, and there’s been one solitary draw. This season has been no different; the Red Bulls have won both encounters by a 4-0 margin. At this point, it becomes incredibly difficult to get psyched for this derby, just because it feels like only one side takes it seriously.
Both sides have new coaches — Domè Torrent took over last month for Patrick Vieira when he departed to manage OGC Nice in France, while the Red Bulls named longtime assistant and former USMNT stalwart Chris Armas to replace Jesse Marsch on Thursday. Marsch left to coach RB Leipzig. While new coaches mean that there will inevitably be a new twist on things, we can expect that the big picture will remain the same. The Red Bulls will press everywhere, and City will seek to possess the ball.
Certainly, Armas hopes to continue the Red Bulls’ stranglehold on this rivalry, which barely merits the term, given their dominance of the series. Torrent, for his part, brought up the nature of the rivalry in interviews this week. “If you want to live the Derby with passion, it’s good but be careful,” Torrent said. “Passion is good but a lot of passion is maybe not good because you have to control everything. Your emotions are very important in this type of game but I was used to playing a lot of derbies in Spain and in Manchester. For me, it’s not a special game but I understand for the fans that it’s a special game.”
Here’s the thing: it’s not enough that Torrent understands that it’s a special game for City fans. It needs to be a special game for him. That was the difference between Vieira and Marsch. Losing in the Hudson River Derby gnawed at Marsch like few other things, and it showed. That attitude came right from the top, and until that changes, New York City fans should expect nothing but disappointment, leavened by the occasional, unexpected win.
This post will update with highlights and information as we receive it.