The East Coast’s take on MLS Rivalry week came to a thrilling end in the Bronx in front of a record-breaking 48,047 cheering fans.
NYC FC took on the NY Red Bulls on their own Bronx turf, but within the hallowed confines of Yankee Stadium. A win streak, aided by thousands of cheering fans draped in blue and a Andrea Pirlo jumbotron cameo seemed to foretell victory for the breakout MLS expansion team.
NYC FC came out guns blazing, with midfielder Tommy McNamara drawing first blood on the Red Bulls with a goal just six minutes into the match–the Club’s fastest goal time to date. The early goal lit up the buzzing crowd eager to see NYC FC come into their own as the New York soccer team.
The first half after the goal which took things 1-0 proved to be a frustrating affair plagued by near misses and failure to capitalize, by both teams. Come the half, both teams were in dire need to pull their resources and thrive off momentum, but unfortunately for NYC FC it was the NY Red Bulls who answered that call.
In the second half the Red Bulls took note of NYC FC’s fast pace and quickly got on the board. First goal for the Red Bulls came from Bradley Wright-Phillips who delivered a nice volley to even up the match. The second goal was off Chris Duvall who kicked in his first MLS goal just six minutes later, giving the Red Bulls a 2-1 lead over NYC FC in all of seven minutes. A later insurance goal from Matt Miazga would finish off the match and improve the Red Bulls to 23 points for the season. As for NYC FC they are now at 17 points with the loss.
After the match Head coach Jason Kreis explained the team’s meltdown:
“I think the second half was a continuation of the end of the fist half,” New York City FC head coach Jason Kreis said. “We did a nice job with how we started the game, it was real good, but after that it was real poor. We got away from everything we’ve tried to do the last several weeks and months.”
As the team preps to return to winning ways, their main focus will be staying consistent and continuing the lessons learned during their season impacting win streak. The team’s next match is on July 4th, where they take on the Montreal Impact.
Photo courtesy of NYCFC