HARRISON, N.J. – Every player remembers their professional debut. It’s a culmination of years of hard work, a moment in which they realize a lifelong dream.
Jack Harrison, of course, is no different. Only for the young New York City FC winger, his lasting memories are for all the wrong reasons.
On May 21, 2016, Harrison entered the pitch in front of a boisterous crowd of more than 37,000 in the 57th minute of NYCFC’s match against the rival Red Bulls at Yankee Stadium. The moment he’d waited his whole life had finally come. The only problem? His team was already losing 5-0.
“I was happy to have made an appearance, but at the same time was disappointed for the team and the result,” Harrison said. “As soon as I got over the initial happiness of making my appearance, I wanted to get revenge.”
The score would famously increase to 7-0, a score Red Bulls supporters have serenaded Harrison and his teammates with in every New York derby since – except for Saturday.
Harrison and his teammates got their long-awaited revenge on Saturday, with the English winger scoring the first goal in a 2-0 win at Red Bull Arena that may have turned the tide in a rivalry that had run decidedly red.
“Definitely excited to get the first win at Red Bull Arena,” Harrison said. “We’ve not been happy with the whole series between the two teams. We knew we had to change that today. It was a big game for us and we went out there and changed it. That was good for us.”
Yes, the Red Bulls still have six wins in the eight all-time meetings between the teams, including a 1-0 win in the US Open Cup on June 14 at Red Bull Arena.
But NYCFC won the latest outing. And it was the way they won on Saturday that perhaps signals a change in the New York rivalry.
It was a blue-collar effort for the boys in blue. NYCFC turned the tables on the Red Bulls by pressing high, forcing the Red Bulls to play long and then winning the 50-50 battles in the midfield. NYCFC was credited with four blocked shots, but it felt like so many more as they limited the Red Bulls to just one second-half shot on frame.
Up the middle, from David Villa up top to Yangel Herrera, Tommy McNamara and Alex Ring in the midfield to Alex Callens and Maxime Chanot in the back to Sean Johnson in goal, NYCFC was terrific. No one who left Red Bull Arena, no matter what color they were wearing, could say this victory was a fluke.
This was thorough. This was comprehensive. This was historic.
“Everybody worked as hard as they could for the team,” McNamara said. “When you do that and you leave everything on the field and you come away with three points, it feels really good. You feel really proud of your teammates and coaching staff.”
Harrison was one of the heroes, scoring what proved to be the winning goal, just as he did in the club’s first-ever win over the Red Bulls at Yankee Stadium last July.
After that victory, the team posed for a picture in their locker room and posted it on social media, drawing the ire of Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch in the buildup to the next game – a 4-1 Red Bulls victory at Red Bull Arena some three weeks later.
While the postgame music was loud and the players were happy about the effort and the three points, there was a different feeling in the locker room this time around. NYCFC had an appreciation for how difficult it is to beat the Red Bulls at their home stadium, but there were no big statements, no boasting from the visitors and no team pictures.
“It definitely feels good. They still beat us six times, but we’ll take this one and walk away really happy about it and about the way we played,” RJ Allen said. “Look, we won 2-0 at their place. It’s a difficult place to play. They’re a good team at home and it’s a really big three points for our club.”
If it was a win that forced a change in color in this derby, they weren’t saying it.
“It’s only been one game in the league and we’ll have to see how the other two go,” McNamara said. “We feel confident in ourselves. I think we came in here and played really well, we stuck to our game plan and we played for each other. When we do that we have a lot of confidence in ourselves to get results.”
Perhaps it was Villa who best put the win in perspective for NYCFC, who moved seven points in front of the Red Bulls with the win and stayed within touching distance of East leaders Toronto and Chicago.
“It’s to try to not let Toronto and Chicago go forward,” Villa said. “They did well, they have a lot of points and for us it’s important to be close to them, too.”
