QUEENS, NY — NYCFC midfielder Aiden O’Neill is no stranger to derbies. As a member of Australian A-League side Melbourne City FC, he set the world record for the longest time between both goals in a brace — 156,956 minutes apart.
In December 2022, O’Neill opened the scoring for Melbourne City in the 11th minute of the Melbourne Derby against Melbourne Victory FC. The match was abandoned in the 22nd minute after a pitch invasion. When the match resumed the following April, O’Neill scored again.
O’Neill, NYCFC’s recent midfield acquisition, played in front of a much calmer 30,000 strong at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon as City defeated the New York Red Bulls 2–0 in the first Hudson River Derby of 2025, though he said the atmosphere at Citi Field was “up there” with other rivalry matches he’s played in.
City’s clean sheet win put them in sixth place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference at 6–5–3. The win only capped off a stretch in which City played five matches in less than two weeks.
City entered Saturday at a slight historic disadvantage to the Red Bulls. In 25 previous meetings, City had gone 10–11–4 against the Red Bulls, and had been outscored by six in those matches. Saturday also marked their first meeting against the Red Bulls since a 2–0 loss in the Conference Semifinals last November.
All of that made the win that much sweeter to City’s players.
“It’s massive,” O’Neill told reporters after the match. “We do know how important this is for the fans and for the club and for ourselves. We came here to win, and that’s exactly what we did.”
City’s advantage over the Red Bulls is at home, which to date has been split between Yankee Stadium in The Bronx and Citi Field in Queens. Entering Saturday, City held a 7–3–2 home record in the derby, with a plus-1 goal differential. In their last five home derby matches, they had gone 3–1–1. Goalkeeper Matt Freese helped the Boys in Blue improve that record with his second career clean sheet against the Red Bulls.
O’Neill’s experience has helped him understand the stakes of these matches. He knows that derbies around the world are all important to fans and players. The players, he said, often have more energy going in.
“There’s going to be emotional times,” he said. “You have to control your emotion and your excitement, especially in derby games, because it’s all heightened. I’ve experienced that before. They’re the most exciting games and the ones that you look forward to the most.”
“Emotions are always there in each and every game,” said head coach Pascal Jansen. “A derby always brings something extra with it.”
One thing City have accomplished in their 10-season MLS journey to date that the 29-year-old Red Bulls have not is a championship. City fans took little time to remind their crosstown supporters of that feat. Just before kickoff, they unveiled a banner that stretched across the length of the stands in their end, in perfect view of the Red Bulls supporters who had been relegated to Citi Field’s 500 level. Not everyone saw it. Hannes Wolf said after the match that he’d look it up.
Rookie midfielder Jonny Shore had faced New York Red Bulls II during his time with New York City FC II in MLS Next Pro. He said that the third-tier version of the derby carries a similar weight to the major league edition.
“Every game in the second team against Red Bulls always has that extra bite,” said Shore, who also praised the atmosphere at Citi Field. “Always has that extra motivation. We always want to beat them. It’s the biggest game of the year.”
Was there extra incentive this go-around, considering City’s playoff exit at the hands of the Red Bulls last fall?
“Yeah, of course,” said Thiago Martins.
“Against Red Bulls is always huge,” said Birk Risa. “What’s amazing is, especially in these games you feel the fans, it’s crazy. The atmosphere you really just want to play in. It’s really, really nice, and today they put on a real good show for us.
City’s future home, Etihad Park, is currently under construction adjacent to Citi Field. In 2027, it’s set to become the club’s permanent home and New York City’s first soccer-specific stadium. The players have embraced their home matches in Queens, and say they are looking forward to calling Queens home.
“Citi Field’s been amazing this year,” said Justin Haak. “The vibes have been really good. Today was amazing, the fans were great, and happy we could give them the win.”
“I think we all know what it means to the fans, especially when we play in Queens,” said Mitja Ilenič. “Our future home, so just feels good, the stadium was packed.”
No matter where they play, the Hudson River Derby remains the most important regular-season match for New York’s soccer clubs. Derbies, like rivalry games across all sports, will always have aura, for they are battles over territory.
“We all know derbies are huge in Europe,” added Ilenič. “But it is one of those that feels special because we are here to battle for New York City. I mean, they are from Jersey, but … New York is blue.”
