Limping into Hudson River Derby week

All is not well with New York City FC after losing back-to-back matches against teams they were expected to beat. The positivity is lacking among our usual trio of hosts John Baney and Mark Radigan and producer Andrew Leigh following two straight 1-0 losses, first away to Pittsburgh Riverhouds SC to crash out of the US Open Cup, then at home to the previously winless CF Montréal. Mark Radigan called the loss in Pittsburgh "one of the most frustrating games" while lamenting that a rotated New York City lineup still, on paper, looked to have enough firepower to get past the USL Championship's Riverhounds – but couldn't. As for the match against Montréal, it left us wondering if something's up with Alonso Martínez who suddenly can't buy a goal, and if the New York City midfield can cope with the injury absence of Keaton Parks, even as Aussie Aiden O'Neill made his MLS debut. DC United is up next for NYCFC and we preview the latest away day, including the challenges of dealing with imposing striker Christian Benteke and balancing the midweek trip to the nation's capital with the huge home game that awaits back in Queens this weekend. Yes, the Hudson River Derby returns to Citi Field and our final segment of this episode is all about the Red Bulls and this latest chapter in the cross-river rivalry. We talk to Michael Battista, Hudson River Blue's senior writer and resident New York Red Bulls expert, who catches us up on everything new with the red side of the rivalry in 2025. How legit was that recent 7-0 blowout of the LA Galaxy, how potent is the Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting and Emil Forsberg attacking duo, and who will bring the spice to the table in this usually testy affair now that John Tolkin is gone? It's a jam-packed episode that's got lots to say about four different NYCFC matches. Listen to the full show then find more of our coverage by following Hudson River Blue on Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads, and by reading all our work at HudsonRiverBlue.com.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.