The Red Bull series, also known as “The Hudson River Derby,” was supposed to be the coming out party for the NYCFC season. Sure, they’re an expansion team and we as fans were not entirely sure what exactly our expectations were but one thing was definitely clear: the Red Bulls and its fans were worried. They were scared NYC was stealing fans, they were scared NYC would steal results……..they were scared that New York was going to turn blue.
Well, it looks to me like New York is a strong shade of red these days.
Look, I’ll get the obvious out of the way so that we can lay it to rest early: at the end of the day, these were three regular season games. They are not worth any more points than the other games played and are just 3 games in the loss column for NYCFC. With these games out of the way, New York can now put full focus on “more normal” opponents and maybe stay off social media for awhile. There is still plenty opportunity for a playoff push and the season is not even close to over.
That being said, I’m a fan so I don’t get paid to look only at the bird’s eye view I just mentioned above. In fact, I pay to have emotion involved and if I’m being honest, I’m pretty upset with this season sweep. One of the things about rivalries is you’re able to put them on a pedestal above the other games. These are the ones that you circle on your calendar because you know there’s more than 3 points involved. It was the Red Bulls who got this message this season and they now have so much real estate in NYCFC’s brain we’re probably going to have to start paying them rent soon.
It’s not just that the Red Bulls took 3 games and 9 points from the season series but also that they made it look easy. They dominated all 3 games and won in three different ways, each one breaking the resolve of NYC and its fans:
May 10th Red Bull Arena
I was at this game, sitting with the NYC supporters and it was quite the experience. The build up to the match was unlike anything I had ever seen in MLS besides the first Portland/Seattle match and that’s saying something. We marched to the match early and the trash talk over social media was on a whole new level. The play ON the field left something to be desired to say the least. Villa and Mix had arguably their worst games of the season, both being subbed off before the 70th minute. You know what’s crazy about that? NYRB was a on a red card early in the second half and we subbed out our two best players!! That’s how shut down they were. The Red Bulls scored a goal down a man and should have added another. Patrick Mullins added a burst of energy off the bench and a glimmer of hope when he brought NYC to within a goal but the match overall was unacceptable. It took place during NYC’s 11 game struggle and only added to the frustration of fans who had higher hopes than last place ¼ of the way through the season. Questions were immediately raised about Villa’s efforts and if he was already frustrated with MLS. Kreis’ lineup was picked apart by pundits and I’m pretty sure this was the loudest we heard the anti-Grabavoy activists (surely my loudest).
This game showed that the Red Bulls were indeed not afraid of NYC and their growing contingent. They have a strong fan base themselves and they made their voices (and tifo) heard in sold out fashion. NYRB controlled the game from the outset (early goal inside 5 minutes) and continued an offensive push even after their red card. It was certainly a statement game in terms of showing that tri-state is still theirs and NYC will have to earn this Derby on the pitch and not off it.
June 28th Yankee Stadium
In, by far, the most hyped home game of the season, NYCFC fans won a social media battle with Red Bulls fans to light the Empire State Building blue. It was a fun week leading up to the game and everything started perfectly with a Tommy McNamara goal in the first 5 minutes, the stadium shaking with noise, and NYC coming awfully close to a second.
Then it all came undone. The Red Bulls took the final 20 minutes of the first half and completely outplayed NYC in the second half for what turned out to be a pretty easy 3-1 win. I would tell you Yankee Stadium was quiet but there were so many Red Bulls fans there the noise level was actually pretty high. Yet again Villa was taken out of the game and supporting players did not step up (sense a pattern forming?). What we thought was going to be a 90 minute party turned into a 45 minute affair of yelling at our own to players to…well…do something! After the game, Kreis called it one of the worst halves of the season for NYC, something I thought was unacceptable since it was a rivalry game. Just like the first game in Red Bull arena, Poku subbed into the game, giving NYC fans hope, only to touch the ball a minimal amount of times and be even less of a factor than Villa. This time around, NYRB did not need Bradley Wright Phillips to be the hero. Lesser known players stepped up for them and looked plenty comfortable on the thinner than usual pitch, sending the NYC fans home with more questions than answers.
August 9th Red Bull Arena
This one was supposed to be different, right? We finally have “ the real NYCFC squad.” Lampard and Pirlo on the field with Grabavoy and Siraboe off it should be enough to scare the Red Bulls and pick up a consolation 3 points in Hudson River Derby 2015…………wrong
In their young NYC careers, Pirlo and Lampard played easily their worst games in Sky Blue and looked out of whack throughout. The second Red Bulls goal was just an atrocious defending job by Lampard that I was happy to see him subbed off soon after (and that’s coming from a big Lampard fan). BWP tapped in the first goal after Jefferson Mena made yet another unacceptable defensive lapse that had to have Siroboe shaking his head, wondering why he’s no longer welcome in these parts (side but relevant note: after 3 games, Mena is AWFUL…end rant). NYC never got comfortable and never really had a legitimate scoring chance in the whole game. Villa AGAIN was held in check (is Red Bull his kryptonite?) so for the third time in 3 chances, Villa was a no show as were the other (considered) playmakers and yet again, the supporting players were held at bay. It was sloppy and it was frustrating since it seemed Kreis didn’t learn anything from the previous two games. Also, what was up with NYC taking so many short corners? Kick that ball into the box for me, one time!
And let me just address the first goal very quickly: I saw a lot of people complaining about the bad call by the ref. Was it a bad call? Absolutely. Was it the reason for the goal? Absolutely not. The bad call (foul on Mix) occurred on the Red Bulls side of the field and NYRB needed 3 passes to then set up the cross to BWP….just a complete breakdown by the midfield and defense.
So there you have it. A red card but still dominance on the field, 3 goals by lesser known supporting players, and no real scoring chances given up. Those are 3 ways to really emasculate a team in front their passionate fans.
I know this has been a negative blog but what do you want from me? I was super positive regarding the state of MLS this summer and Bournemouth in England. Plus, I’m really big on rivalries. I expect my team to show a little more grit and a little more hunger. If that gets them in a little trouble so be it – sticking to their normal game plan obviously didn’t work and now we have to endure a full offseason of Red Bulls fans reminding us of the ass kicking they just gave us. By my calculations, that’s 7 Red Bulls goals to NYC’s 2 in 3 games and I’m afraid to even look at the possession stats.
As I said above, there’s still plenty of season left and therefore plenty of time to make a playoff push, which is obviously what matters most in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully that hunger missing on Sunday will be evident on Thursday when NYC takes on the top team in the Eastern Conference. Until then…and until MLS Cup…and until the 2016 season, New York sure is looking red to me.
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Quick shout out: be sure to check out @NYCFCFan015A on Instagram for awesome pictures of fans and play on the field. A number of players have used his pictures as their profile pics on Twitter NBD
Its great to remember the past, Sunday major lost against Red Bulls is a big lesson for Vieira and create both defense and offensive lines to a higher level. I Will always be Blue.NYCFC will come out of this humiliation and the fans will forget our lost.Saunders must be replaced.