New York City FC secured a 3-2 victory over the New York Red Bulls in the Hudson River Derby on Saturday at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. The win keeps New York City FC in contention for a top-four finish as the regular season draws to a close.
Nicolás Fernández Mercau opened the scoring for New York City FC just 95 seconds into the match after receiving a pass from Justin Haak and finishing low past Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel. The Red Bulls responded in the 24th minute when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting set up Julian Hall for an equalizer.
Andrés Perea restored New York City’s lead three minutes later with a flicked header over Coronel following a cross from Raul Gustavo. The first half saw further chances for both teams, including a shot from Maxi Moralez that went over the bar and a key save by Matt Freese to deny Choupo-Moting before halftime.
Early in the second half, Emil Forsberg scored for the Red Bulls to level the match again. Ten minutes later, Agustín Ojeda nearly put New York City ahead but missed just wide of goal.
The decisive moment came in the 65th minute. After a dangerous free kick by Moralez, Perea’s header was tipped onto the post by Coronel, but captain Thiago Martins reacted quickly to score from close range.
Following this goal, Head Coach Pascal Jansen made several substitutions to help his team manage late pressure from the Red Bulls. In stoppage time, Alexander Hack’s header was cleared off the line by Kevin O’Toole and substitute Tomás Romero, preserving all three points for New York City FC.
After this result, New York City FC will face Philadelphia Union on Saturday, October 4 at 7:30 PM ET.
