New York City FC crash out of playoffs at home

New York City FC 0-2 New York Red Bulls

FLUSHING, NY–It was a blustery night in Queens for the latest edition of the Hudson River Derby, but the result was anything but as New York City FC succumbed to their cross river rivals, 2-0. For Nick Cushing and his team the result was disappointing, but for most fans it was not unexpected as NYC have lost to Red Bulls in every competitive one and done match up in the club’s history.

New York City started slow out of the gate like they have been known to do at certain occasions this season. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was that Red Bull seemed to want it more. Felipe Carballo started the scoring in the sixteenth minute, scoring on a nice shot from outside the box that seemed helped by the wind gust to be Matt Freese. Dante Vanzeir doubled the advantage just nine minutes later off a cross into the box.

While Red Bull keeper Carlos Coronel  had eight saves on the night and New York City enjoyed over seventy percent of ball possession in the game, it was Red Bull who were more clinical in their chances and ruthless in their approach to the game.

Nov 23, 2024; Queens, New York, USA; New York City FC midfielder Hannes Wolf (17) reacts after a missed shot in the second half against the New York Red Bulls in a 2024 MLS Cup eastern conference semifinal match at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

Keaton Parks tried to find a positive after the match. “There’s always positive. We’ll have to watch the game right now. It’s hard to feel that way, but we’ll swallow it, figure it out next week. There’s always going to be a lot of good stuff. I think that we did in this game, but it was just too late. We started out too slow”.

Nov 23, 2024; Queens, New York, USA; New York Red Bulls forward Dante Vanzeir (13) plays the ball defended by New York City FC defender Mitja Ilenic (35) in the second half in a 2024 MLS Cup eastern conference semifinal match at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

Perhaps that slow start was what doomed them to a longer off season than the fans would like. New York City had had a tendency to do that in games this season and for every game it was always a question of which New York City team shows up. Nick Cushing contrasted Saturday’s playoff loss with the last match against Red Bull in the regular season. “The difference between this game and that game is we took our chances in the 5-1 game. There wasn’t so much wrong with this game. We gave away the second ball, [which]drops and he [Felipe Carballo] hits it early and Matt Freese, he’s blinded by it. Then, the set play goal I haven’t actually seen back but to give a set play goal, [New York] Red Bulls feed off set plays and it’s a huge part of their game. We did enough to win the football game, but I can’t blame any guys in there. You look till the end, we’re pushing the game we’re trying to create. We get some chances, we don’t. Sometimes it’s just not your day.”

Nov 23, 2024; Queens, New York, USA; New York City FC midfielder Maximiliano Moralez (27) talks to the head referee in the first half against the New York Red Bulls in a 2024 MLS Cup eastern conference semifinal match at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

So now it is back to the drawing board for NYCFC and on to the next round for Red Bulls. There is no love lost between the two teams and John Tolkin taunted the home fans after the loss in a crude celebration directed at the NYCFC supporter’s section. It was a bitter reminder that New York City have a lot of work to do in the off season and need to show up from the start in every game, especially the playoffs.