It is arguably the first Hudson River Derby for New York City FC coach Ronny Deila, but he knows that the right to brag is in play on Thursday when the Bronx Blues cross the river to take on the New York Red Bulls.
Deila had an asymmetrical start to lead the protective champions of the Eastern Conference. NYCFC (1-4-0) scored their first goal of the season in their current game at the MLS Is Back tournament in Florida and fourth overall, however, the Pigeons recorded two wins on the occasion before making a quarter-final outing at the hands of occasional ones. the champion of the Portland tournament.
With just three weeks since the 3–1 loss to the Timbers, Deila sees her team gnawing the derby as her first game on the first-stage schedule.
“Players know that. You can also feel the week as it’s something special,” the player told NYCFC’s official website. “It is very vital that we have a quiet head, but competitive legs. We have to fit in power and struggle.”
Deila, however, would possibly lack key legs in the attack. All-Star game maker Maxi Moralez is a decision at the right time, while midfielder Gedion Zelalem and striker Ismael Tajouri-Shradi are already out of play due to injuries in Florida.
Free time can help Heber. After scoring a hat trick in the first game of the NYCFC season, a CONCACAF Champions League win over San Carlos, the Brazilian striker has played 8 purposeless matches in all competitions. However, he recorded two assists in four games in Florida.
The Red Bulls (2-2-1) failed to make it out of the organization game in MLS Is Back, losing 2-0 to Columbus and FC Cincinnati after a 1-0 win over Atlanta United. Like its rivals, the lack of purpose has been shameful: New York has scored one goal or none in its last four games after beating FC Cincinnati 3-2 on their eyelids in February.
Defender Aaron Long believes the first purpose of this game will be crucial, especially since the Red Bulls don’t need to run after the game given THE offensive firepower of NYCFC.
“I don’t need to give up the first purpose,” the Red Bulls’ central defender said in a Zoom call. “I think we’re very smart when we get ahead of ourselves, and I think in Orlando, in the first half, we gave up a purpose opposite to Columbus and Cincinnati, and I feel like you know if we can keep a 0 while we can, get the first purpose, take the initiative, force the groups to come up to us, then we can really squeeze them and check them to hit them on the counter. I think he’d be smart for us.
“It’s anything that targets the baseline, it’s just holding the 0 and getting the first goal.”
New York had been 266 minutes without a purpose since the winner of Florian Valot’s four-minute game opposed the Five Stripes in his first MLS Is Back match. The five purposes scored through the Red Bulls come from five other players.
While the Red Bulls have a 9-5-2 lead in the all-time series, NYCFC has amassed four wins and two draws in the last eight games. But getting to Harrison, New Jersey, has been embarrassing for the Pigeons, who returned empty on their last three visits to Red Bull Arena and are 1-7-1 in all competitions since they entered the league in 2015.