6 Lessons Learned from the First Meeting of the New York Red Bulls and NYCFC

The buildup to Sunday's match between the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC was among the most interesting yet confusing in the history of Major League Soccer.

The league and New York media billed the match as a huge rivalry, a meeting of clubs with fanbases that simply did not like each other. Hatred between fans may well exist, but the question remained: Would the two teams, essentially strangers, play the match like it was a rivalry?

Thankfully for the league, media and neutral observers, the game had a rivalry feel from the opening whistle. Fans of both teams were loud throughout the match, an early goal set the pace for a frantic match and a first-half red card to Red Bulls defender Matt Miazga served to both give the match a level of controversy and grit, as well as level the playing field for an overmatched NYCFC side. 

The first half closed with the Red Bulls up 1-0 but down to 10 men. NYCFC held the ball for most of the second half, but a second goal from Bradley Wright-Phillips in the 52nd minute was all the Red Bulls would need to get the victory.

A Patrick Mullins goal with 10 minutes to play made the end of the match more interesting, but New York City never really threatened again. NYCFC boss Jason Kreis and his team were forced to leave Harrison with no points, despite playing nearly an hour up a man.

Though the match was huge for both clubs and sets of fans because of the nature of this blossoming rivalry, there were also plenty of long-term lessons to be taken away from the first Hudson River Derby. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is mostly good news for the Red Bulls, which have 16 points in nine games and sit in third in the Eastern Conference, while it is mostly bad news for New York City, which has only six points through 10 matches.  

To say that Ali Curtis' time in charge of the Red Bulls started tumultuously would be an understatement of massive proportions. For his first few weeks in charge, Curtis was the enemy to many supporters after his unceremonious firing of former manager Mike Petke. 

But Curtis and his new coach, Jesse Marsch, have slowly been winning over fans in the best way possible: with success on the field. 

While his high-pressure style of play has gotten plenty of the attention, the players brought in by Marsch and Curtis have been even more important. Of course, the most talked about additions have been Felipe Martins and Sacha Kljestan, who have combined with Dax McCarty to form one of the most formidable midfields in MLS.

Those players played a big role in the victory over NYCFC, but other recent signings were even more important.

Kemar Lawrence and Karl Ouimette were arguably two of the most important players on the pitch for the Red Bulls, and many Red Bulls fans may have never heard of either player before they were added to the roster in March.

Lawrence, who signed a contract with New York after the Red Bulls' opening weekend draw against Sporting Kansas City, may well have been the man of the match on Sunday if not for Bradley Wright-Phillips' brace. 

The Jamaican left back, only 22 years old, was a defensive powerhouse. He had five successful tackles, no unsuccessful tackles, one blocked shot, two interceptions, five clearances and eight recoveries. If Lawrence continues to play this well, there appears to be little doubt that he will keep the starting role over Roy Miller.

Ouimette, a 22-year-old Canadian center back, signed with the Red Bulls on March 4 after an extended trial with the club. He got his first minutes with the Red Bulls last weekend against New England but was forced into action on Sunday after Matt Miazga was sent off. 

He filled in admirably. In just over 50 minutes of game time, Ouimette had two successful tackles, zero unsuccessful tackles, two interceptions, one recovery and five clearances. 

He is not near supplanting any of the regular starters at his position, but Marsch will be pleased to know that if he must turn to Ouimette again, the Canadian can be trusted.

Early on, it appeared that NYCFC was going to employ the same game plan that the Colorado Rapids used to perfection against the Red Bulls two weeks ago—allow Marsch's side to press high, absorb pressure, then spring counter-attacks with a pacey, strong striker. For NYCFC, that striker was Khiry Shelton.

Of course, giving up an early goal was certainly not in the plan for Jason Kreis' men, but after things settled down, they were able to launch a few potentially dangerous counters. Ultimately, one such counter, led by Shelton, left Matt Miazga exposed. The 19-year-old defender, already on a yellow card, pulled Shelton down and was shown a second yellow card.

NYCFC had nearly 55 minutes to break down the undermanned Red Bulls but never seemed to have any ideas as to how to go about doing so after the Red Bulls altered their own game plan. Mix Diskerud wandered through the midfield, rarely getting on the ball. The entire NYCFC midfield failed to get the ball to the team's most dangerous player, David Villa. 

Despite massively outpossessing the Red Bulls in the second half, NYCFC managed only two shots on goal. 

NYCFC has not had issues creating chances for the most part this season, but rather converting them, so this turn of events comes as somewhat of a surprise. 

Under Mike Petke, some of the Red Bulls' best performances came in matches that the team absorbed pressure and created chances almost exclusively from the counter-attack. It was not always pretty, but it often worked.

Marsch wants his team to play a more high-energy, attractive style of soccer, which has worked for long stretches so far this season. But when the opposition either pressed high in response or went into a complete defensive shell, the Red Bulls occasionally struggled. If pressing high was not working, the Red Bulls did not appear to have another option.

But, perhaps only because it was brought on by necessity, Marsch's side proved Sunday night that it too can play on the counter when the situation calls for it. Down to 10 men, the Red Bulls obviously could not continue to dictate the pace of the game. So they played defense-first, clogging the center of the pitch and playing with two blocks of four in front of Luis Robles. 

As NYCFC brought more numbers forward to try to break the Red Bulls down, Sacha Kljestan, Lloyd Sam and Bradley Wright-Phillips were given opportunities to launch counter-attacks. It led to what was ultimately the game-winning goal in the 52nd minute, and the Red Bulls should have had another counter-attacking goal when Wright-Phillips got in behind the defense in the 65th minute but was stopped by NYCFC keeper Josh Saunders. 

Of course, this success did come against a struggling NYCFC side, but it is important to remember that the Red Bulls were down to 10 men at this point. 

So, while the high press is still definitely the Red Bulls' best bet, it is good to know if they need to change things up, they can.

In July, NYCFC will get a world-class central midfielder in Frank Lampard. But Kreis has serious issues on his hands at that position until the Englishman arrives from Manchester City. 

The most obvious issue is Mix Diskerud, who scored NYCFC's first-ever goal but has not had a particularly strong impact otherwise. Kreis subbed Diskerud out after 65 minutes on Sunday, and said after the match, per Dave Martinez at Empire of Soccer, "I thought Mix was just not great tonight. I thought he was kind of in and around things and not making plays, either in the attacking half or the defensive half." (per Dave Martinez at Empire of Soccer)

Diskerud made way for Kwadwo Poku, a strong 23-year-old central midfielder who has drawn comparisons to Yaya Toure. Poku is a very long way from being Toure though. He presents a danger going forward but has not yet shown he can be relied on defensively. Poku, whose professional experience was confined to the NASL before this season, may have a bright future, but he is not the answer presently.

On Sunday, Diskerud partnered with Andrew Jacobson in the center of midfield. Jacobson is a solid defensive midfielder who is in his seventh season in MLS.

He may ultimately be the best foil for the offensive-minded Lampard when he comes to New York, but Jacobson is not a playmaker, which New York City needs in the midfield right now.

Mehdi Ballouchy, who played the last 20 minutes of Sunday's match, is another option Kreis has at central midfield. Ballouchy has two well-taken goals in seven games this season, but there are questions about how consistently he can contribute. 

The Moroccan is in his 13th MLS season but already on his sixth MLS team. Though he has a clear creative spark, his propensity for turning the ball over and questionable defensive work rate have hampered his opportunities. From 2012-14, Ballouchy played in only 20 games, starting just eight of them.

There is definitely talent in this group, but Kreis needs to quickly figure out how he can use these players to bridge the gap between now and July when Lampard arrives.

The Red Bulls were the hottest team in the MLS for the first month of the season, but home draws against the Los Angeles Galaxy and Colorado Rapids and a loss in New England against the Revolution slowed progress in Harrison. 

Sunday's victory puts the Red Bulls back on the right path.

Obviously, a home victory against a struggling team is not cause for massive optimism by itself, but there are plenty of factors that make this victory more meaningful.

First and foremost, winning the first-ever matchup between the two New York clubs is a morale boost. The players knew how much this match meant to the fans and the organization, and surely feel the growing support behind them after this win.

Second, Bradley Wright-Phillips got back on the scoresheet in a significant way. Wright-Phillips has been asked to play in a different way this season, getting more involved in the attacking buildup. His adjustment has gone relatively well, but the Red Bulls still need the Englishman to put the ball in the back of the net.

His three goals in the first eight games of the season were a decent return, but two of the goals were from the penalty spot, leaving him one goal in the run of play through eight games. After missing late chances against Colorado and New England, there may have been some reasonable concern about Wright-Phillips' finishing.

After calmly converting two chances against NYCFC, though, he is clearly still at the top of his game. 

Third, Sunday's victory confirms that the Red Bulls have not lost the mental fortitude finally discovered under Mike Petke. This kind of match, a rivalry game in which the Red Bulls went down to 10 men, was the sort of situation in which many past incarnations of the Red Bulls would have folded.

Petke finally helped instill some regular confidence and toughness in the team, and Marsch has clearly continued to get mental strength from the Red Bulls.

These factors, combined with the surprising depth found on defense and the team's new-found ability to play on the counter, indicate that the Red Bulls are heading in the right direction once again.

While the Red Bulls can come away from Sunday's match feeling content, NYCFC has to wonder what has gone wrong.

There is some good news for New York City though.

First, the entire bottom half of the Eastern Conference is struggling. Six out of 10 teams in the conference make the playoffs, and despite taking only six points from its first 10 matches, NYCFC is only three points out of a playoff spot. The Philadelphia Union and Montreal Impact are showing no signs of turning things around, which may well mean that New York City only has to outplay two of Toronto FC, the Chicago Fire and Orlando SC to make the playoffs.

There are some internal factors for NYCFC to be happy with as well. David Villa was an effective, dangerous attacker when he was healthy at the start of the season and has two solid potential partners in Khiry Shelton and Patrick Mullins. In goal, Josh Saunders has been nothing short of spectacular for the majority of the season.

But both the defense and midfield need to improve. Lampard will bring some needed creativity to a team that has only seven goals after 10 games, but he will still need help. Of course, if teams like Toronto and Chicago improve their play in the coming weeks, NYCFC could be out of the playoff race by the time Lampard arrives anyway.

Between now and the expected Lampard arrival date, though, NYCFC plays Chicago, Philadelphia, Montreal and Toronto.

So there is no doubt that New York City still has a legitimate chance to turn things around, but its performances will have to be exponentially better than Sunday's.