New York City FC triumphed 2-0 over the Red Bulls at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon. Alonso Martínez opened the scoring with a stunning long-range strike after 13 minutes, before Maxi Moralez sealed the win in the second half with a well-taken goal.
New York City FC 2 NY Red Bulls 0
Report by NYCFC.com
The latest installment of the Hudson River Derby took center stage on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Citi Field as New York City FC hosted the Red Bulls.
The two teams entered the game with identical records so far this season — five wins, five losses, and three ties during the MLS regular season.
Head Coach Pascal Jansen made one change to the side that drew with D.C. United midweek, as Aidan O’Neill came into midfield in place of Jonathan Shore.
First Half
The tempo was high from the off, as both teams set about trying to establish dominance early on.
After several half-chances for City, the game exploded into life in the 13th minute when Alonso Martínez opened the scoring with his 25th goal for the Club.
The Costa Rican collected a pass from Justin Haak and, after turning, produced a ferocious effort from distance that flew past Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel.
He was handed a great chance to make it two not long after, when Julián Fernández lofted a ball over the top.
Martínez was forced to wrestle with the attentions of one defender as he made his way toward goal, with his eventual shot saved by Coronel.
The Red Bulls then registered their first look at goal through Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. The forward found space on the right-hand side of the area but saw his shot hit the side netting.
City came close to doubling their lead on several occasions heading into halftime, including one effort from Hannes Wolf that was cleared off the line.
Second Half
The second period saw no changes for either side, as the Red Bulls registered the first chance of the half through Dennis Gjengaar. The Norwegian’s shot curled toward goal but was comfortably saved by Matt Freese.
Instead, it would be City that found the next goal of the game, through Maxi Moralez. Arriving after a mistake by Coronel was pounced on by Martínez; he squared it to Moralez, who then showed tremendous composure to slot the ball home.
At the hour mark, Jansen turned to his bench for the first time to introduce three changes. Mitja Ilenič, Agustín Ojeda, and Jonathan Shore came on for Perea, Fernández, and Tayvon Gray.
In the 70th minute, a Red Bulls corner saw the ball pop loose to Cameron Harper, but his effort hit the side netting. He was handed another chance minutes later but again failed to convert.
City made further changes in the 76th minute, as Birk Risa and Hannes Wolf departed and were replaced by Mounsef Bakrar and Nico Cavallo.
As the half wore on, City began to exert greater control over the contest. The Red Bulls managed a half-chance through Wikelman Carmona as stoppage time approached, but he missed the target.
City nearly made it 3-0 in stoppage time when Martínez crashed a second long-range effort off the crossbar. That would prove to be the final notable action of the night, sealing an important 2-0 win for City in the Hudson River Derby.
Next Game For NYCFC
The ‘Boys in Blue’ return to The Bronx to face the Chicago Fire on Sunday, May 25, at 3:00pm ET at Yankee Stadium. | Apple TV: MLS Season Pass | Radio (English/Spanish) newyorkcityfc.com/radio
