Bronx, N.Y. – Domè Torrent had suggested there would be subtle changes as he developed his new team.
The most vivid example of change was witnessed Sunday night — in just his third match since replacing Patrick Vieira as the head coach at New York City FC — at Yankee Stadium in the 13th edition of the Hudson River Derby. The principles that often put NYCFC in jeopardy in this series against the Red Bulls were abandoned by Torrent.
The result was a 1-0 triumph on a Maxi Moralez first-time finish in the 85th minute before an announced crowd of 30,027.
“Our idea was don’t lose the ball near the 18-year box,” Torrent said. “If you watch a game and analyze the Red Bulls, the are high pressing and our intention was use the long ball to avoid these kind of actions.”
The result was a season-low 375 passes and fewer touches for the New York City midfielders, such as Alex Ring.
“It was ugly but I don’t care – I’m standing here as a derby winner,” Ring said. “We could have 100 passes, I’ll take that every day.”
Torrent countered the Red Bulls’ tactics by eliminating the risk of building out of the back, starting with goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
“I said to Sean when they make high pressing, no risk – they live for this kind of situation,” Torrent said.
Watch: Highlights from the derby
The result was fewer turnovers in their own half of the field, which lessened the impact of Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, who leads this series with a stunning total of 11 goals. He did not manage a shot on goal with Maxime Chanot and Alexander Callens combining to contain BWP.
“I’m very happy for our center backs especially,” Torrent said. “I think they controlled this player perfectly.”
With injuries eliminating strikers David Villa and Jo Inge Berget from selection, Torrent made a decision to start Moralez as a false nine in an effort to unbalance the Red Bulls back line. With a little over 15 minutes to play, he inserted Jonathan Lewis, who quickly assisted Moralez seventh goal of the campaign.
“The last 20 minutes we were in trouble and I decided to play 4-4-2 with a fast player like Jonathan,” Torrent said.
The shape alteration with an impactful Lewis led to New York City’s first win in three tries this season against the Red Bulls, who still own a commanding 8-4-1 mark in all competitions against their cross-river rivals.
“The message was, if you want to win the game, you have to fight every single ball, you have to fight every second,” Torrent said. “I watched the last two games against Red Bull and they won every single dual. The most important thing for us is to win the duals and don’t lose control.”
NYCFC extended their home unbeaten streak to nine games this season (8-0-1) and tied a franchise high of 11 consecutive games without a loss dating back to last season.
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