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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls forward Alex Muyl heads the ball and tries to control it afterward during the first half of an MLS game against NYCFC inside of Red Bull Arena inside Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls forward Alex Muyl is taken down by a challenge during the first half of an MLS game against NYCFC inside of Red Bull Arena inside Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips (r.) laments a shot that he took which went wide during the first half of an MLS game against NYCFC inside of Red Bull Arena inside Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls midfielder Michael Murillo runs past NYCFC forward Rodney Wallace during the first half of an MLS game inside of Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Members of the cheering section for NYCFC root on their team from the upper deck during the team's MLS game against the Red Bulls inside of Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips (c., 99) hustles for a ball while NYCFC midfielder Alexander Callens (background) is in pursuit during the first half of an MLS game inside Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan (c.) tries to split the defense of NYCFC midfielder Mikey Lopez (l.) during the first half of an MLS game inside Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips (c., 99) lunges to head a ball while NYCFC midfielder Alexander Ring (l.) provides defense during the first half of an MLS game inside Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
NYCFC midfielder Alexander Ring gets treated on the touch line during the first half of an MLS game against the Red Bulls inside Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls midfielder Michael Murillo puts his shirt over his head after missing a chance in the first half of an MLS game against NYCFC inside of Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
NYCFC midfielder Alexander Ring possesses the ball during the second half of an MLS game against the Red Bulls inside Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
NYCFC midfielder Maxi Moralez celebrates the goal he scored in the 56th minute against the Red Bulls inside of Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
NYCFC midfielder Maxi Moralez celebrates his goal that he scored in the 56th minute against the Red Bulls inside of Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Members of NYCFC, including Maxi Moralez (c.), celebrate the goal during the second half of an MLS game against the New York Red Bulls inside of Red Bull Arena in Harrison N.J. on Aug, 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Members of NYCFC celebrate the goal scored by Maxi Moralez during the second half of an MLS game against the New York Red Bulls inside of Red Bull Arena in Harrison N.J. on Aug, 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
NYCFC defender RJ Allen looks to make a cross during the second half of an MLS game against the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls forward Gonzalo Veron (30) sends NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson the wrong direction as the former scored a game-tying goal in the second half of an MLS game against NYCFC inside Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Fans of the New York Red Bulls unfurl a banner after the team scored in the 70th minute against NYCFC inside of Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
NYCFC defender RJ Allen is in pursuit of the ball during the second half of an MLS game against the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles retreats toward his own net to try and stop a shot from hear the halfway line during the second half of an MLS game against NYCFC at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
New York Red Bulls defender Kemar Lawrence leaps into the air to head the ball during the second half of an MLS game against NYCFC at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls defender Fidel Escobar (r.) and NYCFC midfielder Maxi Moralez look up for the ball during the second half of an MLS game inside of Red Bull Arena inside Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips (l.) and NYCFC midfielder Maxi Moralez fight for positioning to possess the ball during the second half of an MLS game inside of Red Bull Arena inside Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC (08.25.17)
New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles possesses the ball in his own box during the second half of an MLS game against NYCFC at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole)
– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
HARRISON, NJ — For all of the dominance that the New York Red Bulls exhibited in the last regular-season installment of the New York derby, they were almost resigned to the fact that their rivals across the Hudson River were going to confirm their dominance in the head-to-head matchup in 2017.
That was the case until substitute Gonzalo Veron converted on a 70th-minute penalty to allow the Red Bulls to come away with a 1-1 draw against NYCFC on Friday, salvaging at least a point from a dominant home display at Red Bull Arena.
Though the first half was scoreless, it was evident that the Red Bulls created much more of the chances and constantly put New York City under pressure defensively. The breakthrough came just over 10 minutes after halftime, but, against the run of play, it was New York who found the back of the net. Prolific scorer David Villa turned provider, as he found Maxi Moralez in the box, who then scored past Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles to give NYCFC the lead.
Just as it looked as if NYCFC was going to come away with a season sweep of their rivals in league competition, Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljesten earned a spot kick for his team after a challenge in the box by NYCFC substitute defender RJ Allen. Veron stepped up and shot past NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson to level the score and earn a share of the spoils.
“I was thinking it’s a funny game sometimes, right?,” said New York Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch after the game. “How many sports does a team dominate like that and then be down. But I wanted to make sure that our team was still aggressive and had confidence and went after the game. They did that. They were able to get themselves back in, and a draw feels like a big disappointment because of the way we played and the way we dominated most of the match. So, yeah, we’re going to continue to take this as a positive and know that we’re a good team and we’re moving in the right direction and not have a setback in any way.”
Despite not earning all three points, NYCFC earned a result in all three games against the Red Bulls in league play, coming up just 20 minutes shy of taking all nine points in the three contests. The Red Bulls did eliminate New York City from the U.S. Open Cup earlier this summer at Red Bull Arena.
“I will take the points,” said NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira afterward. “And I’m really happy with the points because we played against a really good team who make it really difficult for us. So I’m happy with the points, yes.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from tonight’s game, with all photos taken by our senior photographer, Robert Cole. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 24 pictures in total.
