Back to the Bronx for the Hudson River Derby

The New York Red Bulls got help from FC Dallas on Wednesday as their victory over Inter Miami helped the Red Bulls clinch a playoff spot for the 11th straight season. With two matches remaining in the 2020 regular season, the Red Bulls’ next challenge will be a trip to the Bronx as they tackle the second leg of the Hudson River Derby against New York City FC.

There is still plenty of points to grab for the Red Bulls with NYCFC standing in their way to move up in the standings, currently in 8th place due to the points per game rankings, it’s up to the team in red to face the team in blue and knock them down. In this strange season with the pandemic, we see the Red Bulls only losing two games with a heck of a road record.

Interim head coach Bradley Carnell has seen his share of Hudson River Derby games with both Jesse Marsh and Chris Armas at the helm. But this time around, it will be his turn to lead his team to try and get a result not just away from Red Bull Arena again but to get a result against their neighbors in the Tri-State Area. Is Carnell ready for the challenge?

“I feel great, very emotionless. Not getting too high and not getting too low about a derby match, we just feel we can get within one point from NYCFC.” said Carnell. “It’s a three pointer on the line, we got nothing to lose, but all to gain in this one.

“We crossed that line and made the playoffs, and now we need to once again tightening ‘the screws, how good can we be us how good can we be playing like us. We’ve proven that in the last couple of games, you can’t keep saying it, you need to go out on the pitch. We will be a tough nut to crack, but you can’t keep saying that, you have to prove it.”

For teenage sensation Caden Clark, this will be his very first Hudson River Derby.

“This is the biggest rivalry in our club. So this will be my first Derby, I am relly excited to play in it and to be apart of history.” said Clark, “Going over to the Bronx, sometimes these road trips are very quick to get to as the distance isn’t so large.”

“This is going to be an important match for is, not just to get a better position in the playoffs, but the bragging rights is up for grabs, at the end of the day we need to make sure that New York is Red, and we do well.”

For Long Island native Tim Parker, he knows that these last two games are important to move up into a better position for the playoffs and to prepare for a possible playoff run in the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs. These next to weeks are very crucial, and the Red Bulls know that they have to really be on their game to make this happen.

“Obviously getting into the playoffs is an absolute joy. Everyone is always happy about it, and for us obviously like I mentioned before the final seedings will be very important for you” said Parker. “We are working towards being sharper, being a sharp as we can as we are working on all aspects both on Offense and defense. We need to tighten up to make sure we are on our game.”