New York City FC's season ends with 2-0 loss to Red Bulls in Hudson River Derby
Courtesy: New York City FC
By Chris Tsakonas
NEW YORK - New York City FC’s playoff hopes were dashed tonight, as the New York Red Bulls scored two goals in the opening 25 minutes to get the 2-0 win in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Felipe Carballo opened the scoring in the 16th minute, while Dante Vanzeir made it 2-0 in the 25th minute.
Early goals prove costly
While New York City controlled much of the possession in the opening minutes of the match, the Red Bulls were the only team to create early chances. That chance creation led to an early breakthrough for the Red Bulls in the 16th minute, when Carballo found the back of the net with a long-range shot that found the upper 90 and beat Matt Freese.
Before New York City could even create their first shot on goal, the Red Bulls struck again. Off a corner kick from Emil Forsberg, the ball fell to Vanzeir to set up a close-range finish that made it 2-0 in the 25th minute.
The early goals put New York City in a difficult position, as they entered tonight’s match with a 2-9-4 record in matches where they’ve conceded the opening goal in 2024.
New York City attack gets off to slow start
As New York City conceded two early goals at the back, there was also a slow start in the attacking third. After creating only one shot in the first 20 minutes, New York City’s first shot on goal came in the 22nd minute, when Alonso Martinez’s bicycle kick was saved by Carlos Coronel.
Martinez had another effort stopped by Coronel in the 27th minute - which ended up being the only shot on goal of the second half.
Second half push falls short
With a 2-0 deficit entering the second half, New York City increasingly sent numbers forward in an effort to try and get back into the match.
While New York City outshot the Red Bulls by a 21-3 margin in the second half (compared to a 5-5 shooting margin in the first half), it ultimately wasn’t enough to get on the score sheet.
Finishing ended up being a critical factor, as only three of New York City’s 21 shots ended up being on target. The highest quality chance came in the 83rd minute, when a shot from Maxi Moralez from the left side was stopped by Coronel.
After the match, head coach Nick Cushing highlighted the finishing as a factor.
“The difference between this game and that [5-1 win over the Red Bulls in September] is we took our chances in the 5-1 game,” Cushing said. “Sometimes it's just not your day. It's just sport - there'll be one team that wins at the end, and all the other teams have to go back to the drawing board and work hard.”