Derby Round Dos for the New York Two’s

Photo Credit: MLS Next Pro

The second round of the Hudson River Derby is tonight between the two’s, Red Bull currently is winning the derby with a trifecta sweep in round one at all levels.

Tonight, the second teams start the next round with NYCFC having home-field advantage this time around. Both teams are separated by just four points, with Red Bull in front sitting in 5th place while tied for 3rd.

“It was great. It’s something we work on. Some of us had to find the form, so they’re in a good moment. And the spirit is really good in the group, and we had some young guys come back that have been away so it’s a good collection of talent and age groups. We are really happy they are playing really well together, and they are fighting for each other.”

Matt Pilkington NYCFC 2 Head Coach

NYCFC didn’t take long to open the scoring, Piero Elias snuck behind the back lines high pressure and slide the ball into the lower corner 1st post, just 5′ into the match. In the 23′ NYCFC would strike again this time off a corner kick, Jonathan Jimenez converted with a header inside the 1st post off the fingertips of AJ Marcucci into the upper 90. NYCFC would hold their two-goal advantage till the 26′ when the Red Bull would get on the board.

Frank Ssebufu would run onto a low driven cross in the box, and the one-touch strike from the penalty mark would go inside the 1st post upper 90 to bring the score to 2 – 1 in the advantage of NYCFC. The remainder of the half would be competitive, but no further goals would be scored in the half.

“It feels great. It hit different because it was against our rivals, so it was great.”

Piero Elias NYCFC 2 Midfielder

The second half would be competitive and chippy at the start of the second half, unfortunately for the Red Bulls side NYCFC would take control around the 60′ and wouldn’t look back. The Red Bull had some solid looks at goal but could never finish the chances to get back into the match. NYCFC would earn a penalty kick late in the second half and it was P. Elias who would step up and take the shot.

He converted low, bottom corner second post even with Red Bull keeper AJ guessing right, his dive was just off, and it was enough of a gap for Elias. The goal scored in the 84′ gave NYCFC 2 the two-goal lead they needed and wanted.

The Red Bull made it interesting in the final minutes plus stoppage, but the final touches eluded them, and they sit just a point ahead of their arch-rivals across the Hudson.

• Up Next: New York City Football Club II is on the road for a weekday evening matchup against New England Revolution II on Wednesday, June 14 at 5:00 pm ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
• New York Red Bulls 2 stay on the road to face Crown Legacy FC on Sunday, June 18. Kickoff at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex is scheduled for 5:00 P.M. ET. Coverage will be on MLSNEXTPro.com, the New York Red Bulls app, and NewYorkRedBulls.com.