Photo by Danny Wild/ USA Today Sports

By RYAN TOLMICH

HARRISON, N.J. — After Sunday night’s performance, there is little doubt: New York is most certainly red.

For the third time this season, the New York Red Bulls took on their cross-river rivals, and for the third time, they emerged victorious. The Red Bulls left their home stadium as the undoubted and unblemished 2015 kings of the New York area Sunday night, topping New York City FC, 2-0, to continue to keep the bragging rights in the Big Apple.

Much like the first two iterations in this rivalry, Sunday’s game was not a walk in the park for the Red Bulls. In the first clash, a red card set up a nervy second half. In the second, an early goal threatened to level the series. On Sunday, it was a hot start from NYCFC, which tested Luis Robles twice in the opening 10 minutes.

Previously critical of NYCFC’s ability to hang with their local rivals, Red Bulls captain Dax McCarty was much more complimentary of his team’s neighbors after Sunday’s clash, citing a growing mutual respect between the two sides despite the continued bad blood.

“I told (David Villa), ‘I thought you guys played really well tonight,’” McCarty said. “I think if they were a little sharper in front of goal, and if Luis didn’t come up huge for us one or two times, the game could have gone a different way.

“There’s no confusion, so (NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis) doesn’t get upset, I’ll make sure I give them full credit. I thought they were very good tonight. I really did. I thought they played well. I thought that was the best game they played against us.”

Despite the growing rivalry between the two, both McCarty and head coach Jesse Marsch were quick to point out that NYCFC is a team that brings the best out of the Red Bulls and, more importantly, the New York area.

Both McCarty and Marsch said they see the city littered with jerseys, with Marsch even recalling an event in which he saw fans clad in opposing jerseys bickering while walking down 5th Avenue.

While Marsch cited the different philosophies and approaches that the two teams utilize, the head coach said that he is glad to have the rival NYCFC around to claim victories over as soccer in the city continues to flourish to heights previously unseen.

“There’s pride involved in the city and, I’ll be straight: them being in the league has been great for the city of New York and great for the league,” Marsch said. “I’m not a New Yorker, but I went to school in New Jersey and I’ve been around New York enough in my career and seen the league and what’s been happening in the city, and I’ve never seen the city so alive with soccer.

“Maybe in the World Cup, but for actual local teams, for people to be passionate about it, for them to take sides, for them to attach themselves to the identity of whatever team they want to attach themselves to, that’s awesome, man.”

As that identity grows and grows, Marsch is glad that it is his team on the front foot, as the head coach cited his team’s fearlessness. According to Marsch, Sunday was another chance for his players to prove a point, and they look to have made one hell of a statement.

Unbeaten against rivals NYCFC and the New York Cosmos this season, that statement is far from enough for Robles. The Red Bulls, Robles said, are looking for a lot more than just a few wins over a local team; they’re looking to reach ground previously unreached in the Red Bulls’ 19-year history.

“I think it’s sweet in the sense that everyone counted us out,” Robles said. “Everyone in the media thought that we didn’t have the players or a chance to make the playoffs. Now, all of a sudden, we’re sitting in the driver’s seat. It’s definitely ours to lose, and it’s something that we continue to pursue, of course.

“It is very nice to go 4-0 against (New York teams), but we’re hoping that that’s a side note to our season because, in the end, we want this to culminate in a championship.”

Added McCarty: “I don’t think there’s any argument on who’s the best team in New York right now, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to win MLS Cup.”