In the most important Hudson River Derby yet, New York City FC tried but could not get the best of the New York Red Bulls, falling 0-2 in the Conference Semifinals of the MLS Cup Playoffs at Citi Field on Saturday night. NYCFC's 2024 season is over, while the Red Bulls advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2018.
First-half goals from Felipe Carballo and Dante Vanzeir were enough to carry the Red Bulls to their first win over New York City this season after losing both meetings in the regular season.
New York City: 25 shots, 6 shots on target, 62.9% possession, 585 passes, 81% pass accuracy, 9 fouls, 1 save
New York Red Bulls: 8 shots, 3 shots on target, 37.1% possession, 235 passes, 51.5% pass accuracy, 18 fouls, 6 saves
Goals:
• New York Red Bulls, Felipe Carballo, 16'
• New York Red Bulls, Dante Vanzeir, 25'
Attendance: 24,891
Hudson River Blue Staff
Sluggish first half
In the first two Hudson River Derby meetings earlier this season, NYCFC came out of the gates hot and scored in the first five minutes.
This time, the Red Bulls brought the intensity from the first whistle and opened the scoring in the 17th minute through Carballo. Off a goal kick, Carlos Coronel's spinning pass was headed away by Thiago Martins, but his clearance went right to Vanzeir, who passed it to Carballo. Carballo settled the pass and blasted the ball into the top of the goal, over the hands of Matt Freese.
WE DID NOT FORGET ABOUT THIS FELIPE GOLAZO 🚀 pic.twitter.com/FVv0uj9k5S
— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) November 23, 2024
Things got worse for New York City approximately nine minutes later, as the away side made it 2-0 with a goal from Vanzeir. An Emil Forsberg corner kick created a scramble around NYCFC's box before the ball fell to the feet of Vanzeir, who hit it first-time past Freese's far post.
DANTE DOUBLES THE LEAD ‼️ pic.twitter.com/rpvykypVvy
— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) November 23, 2024
New York City – who were creating some chances but could not hit the target – looked sloppy in their passes and ability to win loose balls. New York City had 62 percent possession at halftime but nothing to show for it, trailing 2-0.
Mark Radigan
Offense can't get going
The second half saw New York City play with more urgency, being down two goals.
In the 48th minute, Santiago Rodríguez blasted a shot from the top of the box which Coronel tipped away impressively.
Every NYCFC attack seemed to get increasingly desperate, with time running out and their season on the line.
But in the 73rd minute, the home side had a golden chance to start a late comeback. Alonso Martínez played a pass over to Hannes Wolf, who dribbled into the box all the way to the goal line but dragged his effort wide. Wolf also had Martínez wide open at the far post, but opted to go for the shot instead.
It was that type of night for New York City – a majority of their shots went wide – and Coronel could not be stopped, making six saves on his way to earning his seventh career clean sheet against NYCFC.
New York City attempted 25 shots, the second-most they've attempted in an MLS game this season, behind their 26 shots in the 1-5 defeat to Philadelphia Union in September. NYCFC also ended the night with an xG of 2.8 according to Major League Soccer, the third-highest they've had in MLS all season, but there was nothing to show. According to g+ GameFlow, NYCFC's xG was 3.61.
Hudson River Blue Staff
Looking ahead to 2025
Now with the 2024 season in the rearview mirror, a lot could change before the 2025 season begins.
Club-legend Maxi Moralez's contract is up on December 31, 2024, so it's highly possible he just played his last game in a New York City shirt. If he is to leave or retire, NYCFC would need to go after another attacking midfielder in the offseason.
Justin Haak, New York City's Swiss army knife, told reporters post-game that he is "looking to become a starter whether that's here (at NYCFC) or somewhere else." Haak still has one year left on his contract.
Justin Haak on tonight’s defeat and what he can take from his performances next season. pic.twitter.com/yZmaAPowvV
— Matthew Mangam (@MatthewMangam) November 24, 2024
Julián Fernández – who came on off the bench to play one minute against the Red Bulls – may also be leaving NYCFC this offseason. He's being linked to a $6 million move to Brazilian side Palmeiras after only starting six games this season and playing 674 minutes, which is more than only a handful of players on the team, including Malachi Jones (who suffered a season-ending injury), Christian McFarlane (who started the year with NYCFC II), Jovan Mijatović, and Andres Jasson (who left mid-season for Aalborg BK in Denmark).
If you look at New York City's 2024 season positively, you should be happy with the outcome. After not making the playoffs in 2023 for the first time since 2015, the club bounced back this season and reached the Conference Semifinals, upsetting FC Cincinnati and getting some good results along the way.
But what hurts is that NYCFC lost to their most-hated rivals in the first-ever playoff edition of the Hudson River Derby after outscoring them 7-2 this season and sweeping them in the regular season.
Freese put it best post-game: "I think this is the standard for New York City FC, this is the minimum, you know the bare minimum is getting into the postseason and Eastern Conference semis and Eastern Conference finals is my own, so I'd consider it the expectation for a team like we have so we got there but we didn't make it further than that so we need to keep building."
Matt Freese on #NYCFC’s season, what he told the team after the result, and how he can build off his outstanding season. pic.twitter.com/akxMuyAnyZ
— Matthew Mangam (@MatthewMangam) November 24, 2024
New York City Head Coach Nick Cushing – who has one year left on his contract – was linked with the Arsenal FC Women's job but swiftly denied those rumors. It's still unclear if he'll return next season or even sign a contract extension, but he preached that his team showed fight and can be a top-contending side next season.
We'll see if Cushing is correct next season.
• New York Red Bulls, Daniel Edelman, yellow card, poor sportsmanship 28'
• New York City, James Sands, yellow card, foul 33'
• New York City, Kevin O'Toole, yellow card, foul 39'
Officials
• Referee: Allen Chapman
• Assistant referees: Jeremy Kieso, Felisha Mariscal
• Fourth official: Tori Penso
• VAR: Daniel Radford
• Assistant VAR: TJ Zablocki
