While New York City FC is frustrated about their performances in road contests, the New York Red Bulls were so dissatisfied with their overall ineptitude that it resulted in a coaching change.
Two frustrated teams head into the latest edition of the “Hudson River Derby” on Saturday night when NYCFC visits the Red Bulls at Harrison, N.J.
“It’s extra motivation,” NYCFC’s Maxime Chanot said. “Obviously, we play every game for the fans, but we know this derby means a lot for them. We can’t let them down.”
NYCFC (4-4-3, 15 points) are in the middle of the race in the Eastern Conference, held back by their road results. The club is 0-4-2 in road games and has been shut out three times away from home, but did show some offense in a 3-2 loss at Charlotte FC last weekend.
NYCFC received goals from Gabriel Pereira and Santiago Rodriguez but gave up the tiebreaking goal on an own goal in the 74th minute.
The Red Bulls (1-4-6, 9 points) are playing their first MLS game after parting ways with coach Gerhard Struber on Monday and replacing him with assistant Troy Lesesne.
The Red Bulls, who finished fourth in the Eastern Conference last season, fired Struber in the midst of a seven-game winless skid (0-3-4) that continued with last Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Union.
Last week marked the third time the Red Bulls were shut out amid the skid and the fifth time overall.
Lesesne enjoyed a notable debut on Tuesday when Omir Fernandez scored in a 1-0 win over D.C. United in a U.S. Open Cup contest.
“The message to this team was really clear,” Lesesne said. “Going into the match, we needed to have action. We needed to use this as a reset and start to move forward in our season.”
The Red Bulls are 10-7-3 against NYCFC in MLS contests and 13-8-3 in all encounters, including U.S. Open Cup play.
–Field Level Media