History was made in the Heineken Rivalry Week clash between the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC on Friday, as the teams combined for the first draw in the NY Derby, 1-1 at Red Bull Arena.
NYCFC took the lead near the hour mark against the run of play, as David Villa found Maxi Moralez in the box, and the Argentine made no mistake. But the Red Bulls tied up the game, courtesy of substitute Gonzalo Veron, from the penalty spot after Sacha Kljestan earned the spot kick.
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Goals
Three Things
- RUN OF PLAY: The Red Bulls, which already lost the season series to their local rivals, deserved at least a point in this game, dominating the run of play and nearly all the major statistical categories. And they'll likely feel they earned a second penalty on the night, when RJ Allen clattered over Bradley Wright-Phillips right in front of NYCFC's goal, but there was no penalty called. To add insult to injury, New York City went right down to the other end of the field and scored off that no-call, compounding the matter. Still, even though it was an entertaining and sometimes open match, the Red Bulls deserved at least a draw from it.
- MIXED RESULT: From the NYCFC perspective, the result offers some good and bad. On the bright side, they got a point in a game in which they were largely outplayed, on the road, against a rival. They also ensured a result in all three MLS regular season games against the Red Bulls this season, their first-ever season win against the Red Bulls. The downsides, however, include giving up a lead, losing Ethan White to injury in the first half (with his replacement, Allen, giving up one penalty and conceding a no-call against Wright-Phillips), and potentially falling further behind Toronto FC in the Supporters' Shield standings, pending TFC's game this weekend. All things considered, it was a pretty good draw for NYCFC, but they will rue some of the bad points in retrospect.
- ARGENTINE CONNECTION: Argentines aren't exactly unusual in MLS, but it is notable that both scorers on the night hail from Argentina. The 31-year-old Moralez, the seasoned pro in his first season with NYCFC, now has four goals and seven assists in regular season play, while Veron, in his third season with the Red Bulls, has two goals and three assists this season, settling into a supersub role. Neither player is expected to be the "main man" for their teams right now, but having each contribute surely helps the respective sides.
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