Thanks for following along, from Red Bull arena this is Josef Leizerowitz, signing off.
FT: NY Red Bulls 2-0 NYCFC
90+' Corner NYCFC. Villa's header is wide.
90+' Yellow cards to Mullins (NYCFC) and Lade (RBNY).
90+' Three minutes of added time.
89' Corner Red Bulls.
85' Substitution: Mullins on for Lampard (NYCFC), Vernon on for Grella (RBNY).
New York Red Bulls goal scored in the 85th minute by Felipe.
GOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLL RED BULLS
84' BWP rounds the goalkeeper, but Angelino blocks the shot.
82' A Shaun Wright-Phillips shot is high and wide.
80' Grella low drive is saved.
76' Substitution: Davis on for Kjlestan (RBNY).
75' Corner NYCFC. Villa's header is defended.
75' Substitution: Calle on for Mix Diskerud. (NYCFC)
74' Good build up by NYCFC, leads to a throw in.
71' Low drive by McNamara is blocked for a NYCFC corner. The ball is headed out of danger.
25, 219 is the attendance at Red Bull Arena, third largest crowd in it's history.
66' Substitutions: Poku on for Jacobson (NYCFC), Shaun Wright-Phillips on for Lloyd Sam (RBNY).
65' Corner NYCFC. Jacobson's header is high and wide.
63' Corner Red Bulls. Corner is cleared.
59' Yellow card to Shay Facey (NYCFC).
57' Corner NYCFC. Play is blocked for another corner. Pirlo's kick is too strong, goes out the far side for a throw in.
56' Lampard taken down in the box, but no call from the ref.
55' Villa is played in alone, but ruled offside. NYCFC players livid at the ref.
54' Nice one-two by Villa and Lampard, but Lampard's shot is blocked.
51' Corner NYCFC. The corner is cleared to saftey.
48' Villa tries for a shot, but is wide of the mark.
46' Second half has begun
HT: NY Red Bulls 1-0 NYCFC
45+1' Great buildup by NYCFC, but Mix's cross is blocked.
45+' One minute of added time.
45' Yellow card to Thomas McNamara (NYCFC).
44' Corner NYCFC. Ball is punched out by Robles.
43' On the counter, Kljestan is found wide open, but his shot is skied in front of the keeper.
42' Villa's low cross is met by Lampard, but his shot is just wide.
38' McNamara is taken down in the box, but no call from the ref.
36' Nice buildup by NYCFC, but Lampard's shot is wide.
33' Low drive from Kljestan is saved.
32' Corner RB. Corner is headed to saftey.
29' Corner NYCFC. McNamara's header is wide.
26' Corner Red Bulls. Great header, but Saunders is up to the task.
New York Red Bulls goal scored in the 21st minute by Bradley Wright Phillips.
21' GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL RED BULLS!
20' Good build up by RBNY, but atempted crosses were headed away, and Felipe's shot is way off the mark.
17' City being sloppy, Red Bulls getting chances off the turnovers.
12’ Corner Red Bulls. Corner is cleared.
10' Red Bulls look a bit edgy so far, NYCFC look just a bit more hungry so far.
8’ Mix’s volley is saved by Robles, huge chance missed by Diskerud there.
6' Great back and forth action here from both sides.
3’ Threw ball from Villa to Lampard, but Frank’s shot is just wide. Close for City.
0' Kickoff
Time for the anthem!
Players are in the tunnel, kickoff is almost upon us.
RBNY starting XI: Robles; Lade, Perrinelle, Miazga, Lawrence; Dax, Felipe; Sam, Kljestan, Grella, BWP
NYCFC starting XI: Saunders; Iraola, Facey, Mena, Angelino; Jacobson, Pirlo; Diskerud, Lampard, McNamara; Villa
Khiry Shelton and Chris Wingert have already been ruled out for Sunday's derby. While Pirlo and Angelino did not train on Thursday, both are healthy and are expected to start.
NYCFC boss Jason Kreis has stressed time to implement the new boys into the lineup. “We have Jefferson Mena who has only played two matches for us, not even a full two. We have Iraola and Angelino who have played four. We have a lot of guys who are building still,” Kreis said. “We hope as a coaching staff we are doing the right things and we hope the cohesiveness in our defense gets better every week. That is what we are looking for. That is our goal.”
Tonight will be the 100th match at Red Bull Arena (playoffs included) since its opening in 2010.
In the first Hudson River Derby at Red Bull Arena, NYCFC brought over 1,500 away supporters over to New Jersey. This time around, only 500 away seats have been allocated to the traveling support. The Red Bulls say it is a punishment due to misbehavior of last time. "Because of safety concerns of all guests of Red Bull Arena, we limited NYCFC Supporters to 500 tickets to make them a more manageable group size," a Red Bulls spokesman told the New York Post. "We will continue to work with the NYCFC Supporters to reallocate their allotment as they continue to adhere to RBA regulations at future matches." They say NYCFC fans set off smoke bombs and threw a flare on the field during their first match at Red Bull Arena on May 10.
NYCFC's boss has not been too pleased of what is beig said on th other side of the Hudson River: “I thought that was a little bit crass, some of the talking they did after our last match,” Jason Kreis said on Friday. “We’ll remind our players of what was said, and we’ll hope we go into this game with a little extra motivation.”
Red Bulls sporting director Ali Curtis threw a jab at NYCFC's older signings in this quote. “When I first came to the club, one of the things you want to do is establish: What can be the identity of the club long-term?” Curtis said. “What’s your vision, your mission, your philosophy, your core principles, your style of play? We train hard, play hard, we’re high pressing. You really need young players that can withstand the test of time in a 10-month season.We also want guys that the fans can see and watch and cheer for year-on-year. Getting a guy like Gonzalo at the age of 25 we feel fits that perfectly.’’
“I knew the New York Red Bulls are a very important club in North America. This league is growing, it’s competitive,’’ said Veron. “MLS is the league of the future. It’s very competitive, it’s growing, it’s a league where very many players want to come and prove themselves and now that I’m here I want to do just that.’’
“He represents what the future of this club will be, which will be younger players, dynamic players, talented players, exciting players,’’ Red Bulls manager Jesse Marsch said.
The new boys from the Bronx have not been the only club in adding pieces (Pirlo, Iraola, Lampard, Angelino, Mena) the last few weeks. Jesse Marsch added Shaun Wright-Phillips, a free agent who last played for QPR in England, while also adding Designated Player Gonzalo Veron from Argentina. Veron is expected to debut against NYCFC Sunday.
“We’re trying to be more coordinated,” Kreis said. “Both goals (against Montreal) came in very similar fashion, long balls over the top. With a little bit clearer communication and quicker decision making I don’t think both of those are goals.”
"We have 12 matches left and we have a guesstimate of how many points we'll need from those matches to qualify for the playoffs," NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis said. "A lot of those matches are against Eastern Conference opponents above us in the table. All of these matches are gaining significance as the season winds down."
New York City FC are winless in their two prior meetings with the Red Bulls, losing 2-1 on May 10 at Red Bull Arena and 3-1 on June 28 at Yankee Stadium.
NYCFC lost at home to Montreal last weekend, while the Red Bulls drew the Impact 1-1 in Montreal.
The Red Bulls are 5-2-2 at home, while New York City FC is 3-5-2 on the road this season.
New York City FC (6-10-6; 24 points) currently sits 8th in the Eastern Conference, while the Red Bulls (9-6-6; 33 points) are in 2nd place.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA's LIVE coverage of this evening's MLS Regular Season match between the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC. My name is Josef Leizerowitz, and it is my pleasure to be taking you all through this evening's action. There's still quite a bit of time until kickoff, which is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST, so sit back, relax, and allow me take you through the build up to this one.