New York City FC reclaim Hudson River Derby bragging rights: “It’s massive” | MLSSoccer.com

Rivalry Week is the perfect time for some sweet revenge.

Nearly six months after the Red Bulls ended NYCFC’s season in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs at the same venue, blitzing them for a 2-0 win in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the tables turned.

“It was unbelievable. Being involved in my first derby here in New York – to get the win doesn’t get much better. It’s massive,” said midfielder Aiden O’Neill, acquired last month from Belgian top-flight side Standard Liège.

“We know how important this is for the fans, for the club and for ourselves. We came here to win and that’s exactly what we did.”

Martínez delivers

Martínez, who broke a three-game scoring drought, remains in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race with seven goals this season – and notched his first assist of the year.

The Costa Rican international got the Cityzens rolling with a 13th-minute blast past Carlos Coronel before collecting the RBNY goalkeeper’s misplayed ball and letting Moralez do the rest in the 50th minute.

Additionally, goalkeeper Matt Freese made one save to post his sixth shutout of the year.

“The stadium was amazing, and the fans all came out to support us after what’s been a difficult week,” said homegrown defender Justin Haak.

“This win is perfect for us, and hopefully we can build on it.”

ALONSOOOOOOO Y SU GOL NÚMERO 25 CON EL CLUB ???????? pic.twitter.com/MoEUXbiQmz

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) May 17, 2025

More to come

With the result, NYCFC have won three of their past five games and remain firmly in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs mix.

The next step, according to head coach Pascal Jansen? Stringing together consistent results to go from a solid squad to an Eastern Conference contender.

“Consistency is still our target, it’s still our goal,” said Jansen. “That doesn’t change after today.

“This is a good step forward, but I’m already looking forward to the next game to see if we can stay consistent.”