10-man Red Bulls beat NYCFC in inaugural New York Derby
HARRISON, N.J. - Bradley Wright-Phillips scored two goals and the 10-man New York Red Bulls beat expansion New York City FC 2-1 on Sunday night in the inaugural New York Derby.
New York (4-1-4) bounced back after suffering its first loss of the season on May 2. NYCFC (1-6-3) had its winless stretch reach eight games with a fourth straight loss.
''I think it took everything from the players tonight,'' Wright-Phillips said. ''We knew it was going to be hard, they came to fight, and we got through it.''
Wright-Phillips opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Lloyd Sam used two cutbacks in the area to free himself for a chipped cross to an open Wright-Phillips in front of goal.
The Red Bulls' Matt Miazga was sent off in the 36th minute after receiving his second yellow card. He tripped Khiry Shelton just outside the penalty area in the 18th minute for his first card. On the ensuing free kick, Chris Wingert thought he scored but he was caught offside. Miazga was carded a second time when he took down Shelton from behind on a fast break just past midfield.
It was the first red card of the season for the Red Bulls.
Wright-Phillips scored his second in the 52nd minute for his fifth goal of the season. Sam led a long counter attack, crossed the ball to the left wing and Sacha Kljestan fed Wright-Phillips for an easy tap in. Wright-Phillips had a 2-on-1 opportunity in the 66th minute and opted to shoot it, but goalkeeper Josh Saunders denied his hat trick.
NYCFC pulled within 2-1 in the 76th minute when Patrick Mullins redirected a cross to capitalize on the Red Bulls' failed clearance deep in their area.
But the Red Bulls held on in front of 25,217 spectators, their fifteenth regular-season sellout at Red Bull Arena.
''It was amazing. Our fans tonight were crazy,'' Wright-Phillips said. ''I wish we could have this every week. It's so easy to play when the fans are like this.''
The teams will meet two more times in the regular season, June 28 and Aug. 9.