New York City FC, New York Red Bulls enter second meeting with context in place
NEW YORK
No one quite knew what to expect when New York City FC and New York Red Bulls met for the first time at Red Bull Arena last month.
The first affair between the two MLS sides vying for New York arrived with plenty of fanfare and little in the way of context. It marked the first step between them, not the next one in a long-standing rivalry. Most of the expectations were imposed from the outside, not within the framework of the game itself.
As the two sides prepare for their second meeting in five weeks on Sunday, there is some shared ground between them. They grasp the nascent nature of their bond in the wake of a surprisingly electric affair on May 10. The nature of the occasion -- filled with energy and vigor, particularly from the home side on its way to a 2-1 victory -- supplied ample encouragement that the desired enmity might arise one day.
“I think it’s pretty fair to call it a rivalry now,” Red Bulls captain Dax McCarty said. “We would have liked to not have that red card in the first game, but you can see the intensity on the field. It means a lot to guys. It means a lot to our players. I know it means a lot to their players. When you hear things like [40,000] tickets sold or whatever it is, that’s the stuff you really look forward to as a player. It gives you goosebumps. And those are the games you want to play in. It feels real. It feels like a big rivalry.”
That assertion might oversell the situation a bit given the teams have met just once, but there is reason for anticipation as NYCFC prepares to host the Red Bulls for the first time at Yankee Stadium. The potential atmosphere in the Bronx comprises one piece of the framework, but the state of the team perhaps forms the most crucial underpinning for this second meeting.
NYCFC enters this meeting as one of the form sides in the league after turning things around in the wake of the Red Bulls’ defeat. The emergence of Shay Facey allowed NYCFC coach Jason Kreis to form a more cohesive back four with more players featuring in their natural positions, while the increased incisiveness in possession paved the way for more production in the final third from David Villa (four goals during the current four-match unbeaten run, including two in the 2-0 victory at Toronto FC last weekend).
Those tweaks lifted NYCFC away from the foot of the Eastern Conference table and pushed the team into the playoff discussion, while the constant speculation surrounding the addition of Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo (Kreis batted away any talk of it here ahead of the game) increased the buzz around the side. NYCFC enters this game with an increasing awareness of its emerging identity, according to Kreis.
“I think that this group has discovered a little bit about itself,” Kreis said. “I think that we’re starting to develop an identity of who we are and who we are going to be for the rest of the season. We are now -- I think -- comfortable. We have spent the requisite amount of time together. The players have an understanding of how each player plays and where each other is going to be at all times, whether we have the ball or whether we don’t.
“I feel like we’re in a good moment now,” Kreis continued. “We’re quite a bit more confident now about who we are. But, also, it’s a group that recognizes that we need to continue to improve. All of these games in front of us are critically important if we want to -- at the end of the season -- be where we all expected or wanted to be: having a chance to make it to the playoffs.”
NYCFC sits just three points behind the Red Bulls for the sixth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. It is a surprising turn of affairs after the Red Bulls’ emotional victory six weeks ago, but Jesse Marsch’s side promptly toiled through a five-match winless run in the wake of that triumph.
Most of the characteristics cultivated early in the season -- including the high pressure deployed to unsettle the opposition and the tidy combinations used to unlock them after winning possession -- slipped during that skid. The waning of those traits and a spate of absences hindered the efforts to procure points, but the Red Bulls slid back on track with a 1-0 victory over nine-man Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.
The performance in that victory did not hit the heights reached earlier in the season, but it did draw a firm and necessary line under the recent downturn. The return of Sacha Kljestan from a one-match suspension and the uptick in energy experienced ahead of the trip to the Bronx supplies the Red Bulls with ample hope of a second straight victory.
Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said he and his players will need to adjust slightly to the narrow confines at Yankee Stadium, but he also underscored the need to cast aside the change in circumstances for both teams ahead of this game.
“You have to throw records out the window when it comes to big games,” Marsch said. “You have to know you’re going to get the best versions of both teams. I know New York has stepped up on the field. We know that they’ve grown a lot and they’re a better team than what we saw on May 10. We’re going to make sure that we’re ready go and make sure we’re a better team than we were on May 10. We’re looking forward to it.”
The primary difference now is the grounding. Instead of staring into uncertainty, the two sides have drawn up the rules of engagement. There is context now. There are expectations established. It is now up to both sides to respond accordingly to ensure this second battle for New York ends in their favor.
