Red Bull New York and New York City FC (NYCFC) played out a 1-1 draw in an entertaining – and often feisty – Hudson River Derby at Sports Illustrutated Stadium Saturday evening.
In what was the definition of a game of two halves, the Red Bulls hit the front on the stroke of half time when Jorge Ruvalcaba slammed home from close range to cap off a dominant first half. Andrés Perea leveled up for the visitors early in the second half when he headed home from a Nico Fernández Mercau free kick, with set pieces once again proving the Red Bulls’ undoing in the derby.
A draw is hardly surprising considering the teams sit side-by-side in the Eastern Conference and came into Saturday’s clash with almost identical records over their last six games. And, in the end, a draw was just about fair in a topsy-turvy clash that saw both sides spurn golden opportunities.
There was worrying signs for NYCFC, however, who lost veteran midfielder Maxi Moralez to a non-contact injury midway through the first half. The 39-year-old, who ruptured his ACL in 2023, was stretchered from the field after a long stoppage.
“We’re all praying for him,” NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen said. “Hopefully it’s something that turns out not as bad. We’ll have to wait and see.”
The Red Bulls were much the better team in an abrasive first half, relentlessly pressing the NYCFC defense to hem the visitors in their own half. But the addition of Malachi Jones after the restart changed the game for Jansen’s Jansen’s side, adding much-needed pace that allowed NYCFC to exploit the Red Bulls high line.
“The biggest threat of ours is the movement in behind, and there was none of that (in the first half),” Jansen said.
Bradley, meanwhile, praised an “excellent” first-half performance but rued his side’s defending from set pieces for Perea’s equalizer.
“We have to continue to work on is our ability to defend set pieces,” Bradley said.
Bradley added that he was proud of the performance Saturday night, describing it as a “good step forward.”
It was the Red Bulls who started much the brighter in a half full of flash points, often pinning NYCFC inside their own half throughout a dominant 45 minutes that had everything but clear-cut chances.
Emil Forsberg had the game’s first chance after eight minutes when Cade Cowell picked out the Red Bulls captain in space in the NYCFC area, but Forsberg’s timid effort was deflected behind for a corner by NYCFC captain Thiago Martins.
Jansen’s side could not deal with the intensity of the Red Bull press in the early stages and was often forced to go long to an attack that struggled to contest aerial duels. The Red Bulls, on the other hand, probed down the flanks during the opening period, in particular through Cowell, who posed a continuous threat to Nico Cavallo down the right hand side.
But for all of the Red Bulls pressure and territory, Bradley’s side struggled to create any meaningful chances – until the 32nd minute when Forsberg split the NYCFC defense with a clinical pass to set Ronald Donkor through on goal. Matt Freese spread himself to superbly smother the close-range effort, but Donkor will likely rue the heavy touch that allowed the NYCFC ‘keeper to close the distance between them.
The visitors’ struggles continued when Moralez was left writhing in agony after a seemingly inocuous challenge in midfielder. The NYCFC midfielder, who suffered a ruptured ACL in 2023, was eventually stretchered from the field after replays appeared to show that he had caught his leg in the turf.
The long pause did nothing to abate the one-sided nature of the half, however, and NYCFC’s resolve was finally broken on 44 minutes when Cowell again got to the byline and fizzed a cross into the NYCFC six-yard box. Martins’ desperate clearance came back off the post, with Ruvalcaba on hand to slam home from the goal line.
But NYCFC was a team transformed after the restart thanks, in large part, to the introduction of Malachi Jones as a half-time substitute for the ineffectual Hannes Wolf.
Jones almost made an immediate impact when he cut in from the left within 60 seconds of coming on and fired an effort just over the Red Bulls crossbar, but his ability to stretch the home defense completely changed the shape of the game.
Suddenly, the visitors were able to exploit the space behind the Red Bulls backline, with Fernández Mercau winning a free kick near the touchline seven minutes into the half. The Argentine dusted himself down to take the set piece, with Perea glancing home the inch-perfect delivery to bring the sides level.
It was now Jansen’s side doing all of the running as Jones and Ojeda continued to exploit the gaping space behind the Red Bulls defense.
The visitors should have hit the front on 56 minutes when Perea escaped down the right and played what seemed to be a harmless ball across the Red Bull area, only for Ethan Horvath to spill what should have been a routine claim into the path of Jones. Off balance, the NYCFC winger could only muster a tame effort, allowing Justin Che to clear off the line.
The Red Bulls continued to play a high line as the half wore on and NYCFC continued to exploit it. Jones, who played on the shoulder of the last defender throughout the half, beat the offside trap again on 66 minutes to bear down on Horvath’s goal, but he rushed his shot, allowing the Red Bulls ‘keeper to beat the effort away.
Horvath narrowly avoided catastrophe moments later when he came to punch a Fernández Mercau freekick and missed the ball entirely, only to see the cross cannon off the post and away from danger.
Chances kept coming for the visitors as Jansen’s side turned the screw late on, with the contest resembling a basketball game in the final ten minutes.
Jones spurned another opportunity when he volleyed wide from close range on 82 minutes after Cavallo scampered clear down the left. With the goal gaping, it seemed easier to score than miss.
Ojeda spurned an almost equally good chance two minutes later when Fernández teed him up in space in the Red Bull area. The winger’s touch was too heavy, however, allowing the Red Bulls defense to close him down and force him to snatch at the effort.
“All credit to Malachi,” Jansen said. “He alone could have scored two or three goals and killed the game, but he was a major difference in the second half.”