After two years of getting dominated by the Red Bulls, New York City FC has finally broken through, and turned the Hudson River Derby into MLS’ best rivalry. Sunday’s come-from-behind 3-2 win before a sellout crowd of 33,679 at the Stadium gave them the season series for the first time.
It might be good not just for soccer in New York, but the entire league.
Bradley Wright-Phillips gave the Red Bulls a lead with two goals, but David Villa topped him with his first MLS hat trick. In the 75th minute he scored the winner on a penalty, and in the 90th walked off to a standing ovation and chants of ‘MVP.’
He sure looked like one, lifting his league-high scoring total to 17 goals and carrying NYCFC (12-7-4, 40 points) to within four points of Eastern Conference leader Toronto and a point of Chicago. The Red Bulls are fourth with 35.
“For our supporters it’s really important that we win these games and we did it two times this year. But for me, most important is that Red Bull is two points behind us,’’ Villa said. “This is a great day for us.”
Some might say it’s even great for MLS. The Red Bulls had taken five of six and outscored NYCFC 18-5 over the first two years, but after NYCFC’s June 24 win at Red Bulls Arena, Sunday’s encore may turn this into MLS’ first proper derby.
“It’s a great game for the league. … For us its really good,’’ NYCFC sporting director Claudio Reyna told The Post. “As an expansion team we wanted to catch up and see the benchmarks that were in the league and they’re one of the teams that’s been really good for years. … It motivated us. And for our psyche it was really good to get two in a row.
“[MLS] needed these kind of rivalries to push the league to the next level. You see it on the west coast and you see this rivalry. There’s no games like this in the league where there’s a real intensity and fight to beat each other. And we’re neighbors: There’s fans of ours that live there and fans of [theirs] that live here. You could see that mix in the crowd. It’s great.”
It wasn’t just the fans that saw it, but coaches from Germany, Spain and Mexico that Reyna hosted in his box, all stunned at the atmosphere and display.
The Red Bulls had won four straight MLS tilts since that NYCFC loss, riding a new 3-6-1 formation. But once again NYCFC passed long over their high press, and Villa gave them a 28th minute lead.
Wright-Phillips scored in the 41st and 64th, giving him 10 goals in eight games against NYCFC. But Villa dribbled through three defenders, spun Aaron Long around 360 degrees, and struck a 72nd minute equalizer. Then he drew and converted the winning penalty kick.
“We’ve lost two games in a row to them now. It just doesn’t feel good,’’ Wright-Phillips said.
“This is what this sport is,” Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said, “and this is what great rivalries are. So it’s a crappy feeling, that’s for sure.”
Red Bulls midfielder Daniel Royer (knee) left in the 14th minute, with X-rays negative and an MRI expected Monday. They meet again Aug. 25 at Red Bull Arena.