MLS Wrap: New York Red Bulls win first Hudson River Derby

HARRISON, N.J. - It was clear from the moment the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC took the field for pregame warmups that Sunday's inaugural Hudson River Derby was going to be something special.

More importantly, it was a a sign that the occasion was going to be something real.

So much of the discussion coming into the game was about whether a rivalry that had never been contested before could be authentic right away. No one ever questioned that the history book would be written over time, but up until now, only the foreword had been recorded.

Then the home team came out of the tunnel, and a jolt of electric noise rose out of the red-clad South Ward. A second later, a cascade of boos descended from the blue mass in the visiting fans' sections at the other end of Red Bull Arena. And when City emerged shortly thereafter, the cauldron of sound flipped 180 degrees in a heartbeat.

By the time the teams lined up for the national anthem, it was clear that this wasn't just another Northeast Corridor rivalry game. Yes, after all the banter and the snark, it seemed that this game did indeed mean something.

Perhaps that's why almost all the fans were in their seats before kickoff, instead of showing up late as often happens here. Never mind comparisons to playoff-caliber intensity – this was one of the most amped crowds I've ever seen for any game in this building.

That energy clearly made an impact on the field, as both teams charged out of the gates with pace and power. It took just four minutes for the Red Bulls to score the game's first goal: Lloyd Sam floated an inch-perfect chip over City goalkeeper Josh Saunders from the right edge of the 18-yard box, and Bradley Wright-Phillips deposited the ball with ease.

On a few occasions, the energy got a bit too hot – especially for young Red Bulls defender Matt Miazga. The U.S. under-20 national team regular got booked twice in the first 36 minutes for charging into City forward Khiry Shelton from behind, and was sent off.

But for most of the night, the Red Bulls were in control. Head coach Jesse Marsch's smartly-designed midfield triangle of Dax McCarty, Felipe Martins and Sacha Kljestan silenced City star Mix Diskerud. And while they held down the center, Lloyd Sam created from his perch on the right wing.

The South Ward ate it all up. And for as much as the Third Rail urged their team on, they couldn't control matters on the field. When Wright-Phillips doubled the Red Bulls' lead just after halftime by finishing a sensational build-up from Sam and Kljestan, it felt almost inevitable even though they were down a man.

In the 64th minute, City manager Jason Kreis conceded Diskerud's defeat, taking him off for the more direct Kwadwo Poku. Two minutes later, Villa's night ended as he was replaced by Patrick Mullins.

That Villa didn't last the full game was predictable, given his longstanding battle with injuries. But Diskerud's exit was a surprise.

"I thought Mix was just not great tonight," Kreis said. "I thought he was kind of in and around things, and not making plays in either the attacking half or the defensive half."

Just when it seemed like the Red Bulls had the win sealed, Mullins poked home a close-range finish in the 76th minute after taking a long pass from RJ Allen. Up to then, Allen had spent most of his night being torched by Sam on the flank. His assist will give him at least a little something positive to take from the night.

City pushed hard for an equalizer, but never got it. And when the final whistle blew, the home fans lifted the roof off the place again as they celebrated a 2-1 win.

While the Red Bulls fans partied during the latter stages, Marsch never even smiled. But that doesn't mean he lacked for emotion. The Princeton product was ferociously intense all-night: steely-eyed and cross-armed at times, shouting and pointing at players and officials at others.

"I'm not sure I contained it very well, apparently," Marsch quipped. "These are the games that you want to play in, you want to be a part of, you want to coach in... The competitive juices get flowing, and especially when you're down a man and you see your guys fighting like hell to do everything they can to win that match, it was inspiring."

Marsch is not one to take credit for himself, but he deserves praise for instilling that mentality in his players. Even though the Red Bulls were down a man for 54 minutes, it never felt that way.

Among the reasons why was Marsch's decision to bring in defender Karl Ouimette for forward Mike Grella within moments of Miazga's red card. Ouimette was an under-the-radar signing by the Red Bulls right as the season started, but he was an important one.

Even though Ouimette is just 22 years old, he already has played a few times in the CONCACAF Champions League, and he has eight caps for Canada's national team. He also has plenty of experience in rivalry games thanks to Montréal's always-fierce showdowns with Toronto FC.

And most importantly of all, Ouimette has a longstanding relationship with Marsch, who brought him into the pros from the Impact's academy in 2012 while managing the senior club in its first MLS season.

On Sunday, Ouimette rewarded Marsch's faith in him.

"There was a lot of tension, but when you play in games like that over the years, it becomes easier to stay focused," Ouimette said. "My teammates helped me out a lot tonight to be in the right condition to put in a good performance... The communication on the back line was perfect."

If there were any remaining Red Bulls fans whom Marsch had not yet won over after replacing former fan favorite Mike Petke, surely this night silenced them once and for all.

And if there were any remaining doubters about whether the Hudson River Derby truly merits the title, I have to believe this night silenced them too.

Is it Seattle-Portland yet? Of course not. Nor is it D.C.-Red Bulls, Montreal-Toronto, San Jose-Los Angeles, or any number of other rivalries that have grown organically over time.

But we saw Sunday night that the City-Red Bulls... whatever it is... has authenticity. That is no small praise for the opening chapter of what promises to be quite a shared history.

Here are the highlights from Red Bull Arena and all the rest of the weekend's action around Major League Soccer.

Orlando City: Cyle Larin 75', Aurélien Collin 90'
New England Revolution: Charlie Davies 19', Kelyn Rowe 71'

Colorado Rapids: James Riley 90 +3'
San Jose Earthquakes: Chris Wondolowski 19'

Chicago Fire: Jeff Larentowicz (PK) 88'
Real Salt Lake: Álvaro Saborío 13', Luke Mulholland 56'

Montréal Impact: Dominic Oduro 71'
Portland Timbers: Nat Borchers 64', Diego Valeri 70'

D.C. United: Jairo Arrieta 42'
Sporting Kansas City: Dominic Dwyer 45'

Columbus Crew: Kei Kamara 10', Federico Higuaín 49', Kei Kamara 58'
Seattle Sounders: Clint Dempsey 24', Clint Dempsey 75'

FC Dallas: Blas Pérez 77', Tesho Akindele 86'
Los Angeles Galaxy: Gyasi Zardes 59'

Toronto FC: Jozy Altidore 77'
Houston Dynamo: Óscar Boníek García 44', Will Bruin 53'

New York Red Bulls: Bradley Wright-Phillips 4', Bradley Wright-Phillips 52'
New York City FC: Patrick Mullins 76'