MLS atmospheres can be a little ... flat at times but that wasn’t. New York City FC may be reviled already as a ‘plastic’ club but but if future derbys are like that, few will care. There was little respite in action or noise. Although the latter may have been because I had my TV turned up to drown out the aircon. Still, a victory for a new rivalry that one. And loud air-conditioning.

PEEEEP! Full-time: Richards was onside, replays show. Anyway, it looks like it won’t matter. And it won’t! The Red Bulls celebrate as the final whistle blows.

90min +3: Richards onside and clear... or is he? He’s flagged for offside.

90min+2: Red Bulls counterattack! McCartythen has a wild two-footed challenge after Red Bulls lose the ball but somewhere amid the blood and thunder, NYC FC clear.

90 min: NY FC will have four minutes to get the equalizer.

88 min: Lawrence scampers up the left, and is brought down in a promising position. McCarty has a blast from distance. But it’s not threatening. In fairness, Neil Bloomgarden, labels this email ‘From the department of oranges-to-apples comparisons’: “Attendance at the Rangers’ NHL Playoff game: 18,000. Attendance at a Red Bull regular season game the same day: 25,000”. You don’t even want to know how much they got at the table tennis.

85 min: Poku nearly slaloms his way into a one-on-one but his final touch is too heavy and Red Bulls can clear.

83 min: Sam barely escapes with his kneecaps intact after a lunge from Allen, who is booked. I’m surprised that’s the first time Allen has clattered Sam, because the winger has tormented him all night.

81 min: Free-kick to NYCFC! Mullins and Lawrence collide and I thought they both gave as good as they got, not sure that was deserved. Anyway, the free-kick comes to nothing.

79 min: Wright-Phillips is off, and Richards is on. He’s not happy either - what is it with these professional sportsmen wanting to play sports?

76 min: Red Bulls have plenty of men free as they counter-attack but Felipe goes for glory. Glory, on this occasion, being a punt into the stands.

74 min: Meanwhile:

I think you’ll find that Cristiano Ronaldo (who, we are now obliged to point out, does a lot of work for charity.)

72 min: Wright-Phillips gets the wind knocked out him after an aerial challenge but he lives to fight another day. And even stay on the pitch.

71 min: Ballouchy - a former Red Bull - is on for Alvarez. Alvarez was excellent in the first-half but h has faded in the second. Here’s Momoe Hirao. “Another tough decision for the neutrals: Whether to attempt to persevere through an Alexi Lalas commentary on Fox or watch it on stream of Sky sports, where the Scottish commentary is calling out Sacha “Kles-stein” for his solid passing and hard work. If BWP can get an unanswered third, the red fans will be singing “Can we play you every week?”

69 min: Villa is off for Mullins. It’s safe to say the Spaniard is unhappy with that decision. In fairness, he has slightly more experience of big games than Mullins. Adrian Fussell is feeling the rivalry: “I am in the goal behind Robles, so tense until that second goal. NYCFC gone quiet but for some drummer. Hate NYCFC so much.”

67 min: Allen, who has been tortured by Sam all evening, has his best moment of the match. He scampers down the left and his cross eludes Robles. But it also eludes everyone else. NYCFC are still in this game. Just. Wright-Phillips is played through the middle and it’s a one-on-one with the keeper but Saunders saves well with his feet.

64 min: Change for NYCFC: Poku on for Diskerud.

62 min: Wright-Phillips goes for his third of the game. He spins away from his marker and stings Saunders’s palms. The keeper manages to keep it out though. Great stuff.

60 min: Lawrence is booked for a hack on Alvarez as NYCFC counterattack. The speed of the game is crazy, and some of the players out there will start to tire – badly – soon.

58 min: NYCFC aren’t downcast though, and they continue to pile forwards. A free-kick is floated a little too heavily into the area and Robles gathers.

56 min: That was always a danger for City, and it at least came from their willingness to to go after the equalizer. In fact, they’re still attacking now. But with players as accomlished as Wright-Phillips and Sam, space was always likely to be expolited ruthlessly.

51 min: Sam’s shot is cleared off the line. A very quick break there.
Our very own Graham Parker is at the stadium - you can read his report after the game - and has given us his thoughts on the first half: “Enjoyable game. Second half is as much a test of the passing game Jason Kreis wants his team to play as a test of Red Bulls defense — can NYC cohere to pass around and tire out the ten men? And how long will Villa stay on the field?”

49 min: NYCFC have around 18 shots blocked before the ball rolls out to Grabavoy, who hits it first time on the bounce, and the balls zips past the post. Red Bulls have some defending to do this half.

46 min: We’re back again. Red Bulls, to those of you who may have missed it, are down to 10 men. Marsch has told his team to focus on closing down City in midfield, according to Fox Sports.

Some half-time thoughts from Matt Richman: “Can only find the red card regrettable, though it was very much deserved. A good end-to-end contest ruined as Red Bulls only need to defend for the second half. Could they possibly get another goal with those punts upfield?”

Half-time: There should be a derby every week! That was breathless, exciting stuff. Not much poise or class but absorbing stuff played out in front of a raucous crowd. Wright-Phillips nearly scored to end the half too, Saunders having to charge out to save.

45 min: And for the red cards fans out there:

44 min: City FC think they’ve got a corner to end the half after Jacobson’s shot is deflected wide. The referee disagrees and the Red Bulls can breathe and enjoy their goal-kick in peace.

41 min: Red Bulls will want to get into half-time in one piece – and ahead – so they can regroup. And give Miazga a comforting hug/punch to the groin.

39 min: Well, well, well. Well. Miazga couldn’t believe the decision to send him off but it was a fair booking. Will Red Bulls sit on their lead now – it’s a long time to defend a 1-0 margin and Villa is looking hungry. Substitution: Grella makes way for Ouimette, who will provide defensive cover for the Red Bulls.

33 min: Scary moments for NYCFC. Kljestan’s shot from the edge of the area spins off a City player’s foot. It really could have gone anywhere, and the keeper is wrongfooted. But it ends up as a corner, which City are able to handle.

30 min: Alvarez, City’s best player so far, attempts a curled shot into the far corner but it doesn’t quite come back and drifts past Robles’s far post, enjoying the warm evening air.

28 min: I have to say, this is an excellent game at the moment. Maybe not the most finesse I’ve ever seen but for a rivalry only 28 minutes old, it’s hard fought and frenetic.

26 min: It’s fair to say that City are marginally the better the side now. Fox Sports shows a frustrated Marsch on the sidelines. Just as I type that Felipe forces Saunders into a good save in the City goal.

23 min: Oh, lovely ball into Wright-Phillips that floats over the head of Hernandez. But the Englishman can’t quite bring it down inside the area, and City can take it up the pitch.

21 min: Shelton wins his team a free-kick and Miazga gets himself booked after Shelton proves too skilful on his way towards goal. The set-piece is 30-yards out. Alvarez stands over the ball and Wingert pokes the ball home but he was offside ... just.

18 min: Graham Parker has noticed NYCFC’s little Sam problem:

17 min: NYCFC have managed to slow things slightly in that they’re not being completely overwhelmed at the moment. They even win their second corner of the game after nice work from Alvarez. Meanwhile, a good fact:

13 min: Corner for Red Bulls but a NYCFC head, um, heads it to safety. Also - will someone not mark Lloyd Sam? He’s got and everything but he’s not Leo Messi. Once again he’s free on the borders of the area but he can’t find the right ball.

11 min: A slip from Duvall nearly lets Villa in but Red Bulls scramble it away. And then the ball bursts, turning into a sad deflated balloon. Tom Brady should stick to the NFL and leave MLS alone.

8 min: Well, so much for a midfield battle. Most of the game has been played around the two penalty areas and NYCFC have failed to impose themselves on their opponents physically. Sam has been getting a lot of space down the right.

5 min: Sam was as squirmy and tricky as ever for that cross but there was no one – NO ONE – marking Wright-Phillips. Pretty sloppy stuff.

2 min: Red Bulls press early on. First, Sam’s cross flashes across the face of goal. Shortly afterwards they win a corner but City get it clear.

1 min: And we’re off. City kick off. The Red Bulls in red and white and NYCFC in black. The sound round the stadium is, I have to say, excellent. The Red Bulls fans are winning at the moment:

As the El Plastico debate rumbles in the background, Scott Bassett is back: “It may also be worth pointing out that teams with long, storied histories actually started at some point in the past. They were novelties with nothing behind them too. Anyway, the Metrobulls have 20 years behind them now. It ain’t nothin’...”

My colleague Bryan Graham is at the stadium and says the (American) coach of the Nepal football team, Jack Stefanowski, has just been shown on the big screen to cheers. Speaking of footballers and Nepal, Cristiano Ronaldo is winning over a few of the haters with this stupendous piece of charity.

And a wee message for the New York City FC fans from their friends at Red Bulls:

And the players are out on the pitch ahead of kick-off. It’s a full house - and a rowdy one too:

And who to support this evening. Well, a lot of people on my Twitter feed say Cosmos, but here’s Scott Bassett: “American sports can be an apolitical zone most of the time. But given the choice between a team objectionably named for an awful drink and a team owned by Sheikh Mansour, whose petro-dollars were and are earned by driving the atmosphere to catastrophe and a none-too-rosy record of human rights abuse, well... I’ll go with the PATH train and swamp-stank in Jersey. It’s saying an awful lot when being affiliated with the Yankees is the least negative aspect of your team.”

An email! “I live in NYC and couldn’t give a damn about either of these franchises,” says Dave Lather, getting us pumped up for the game. “Would rather watch almost anything else than give my time and attention to these franchises whilst real clubs with long histories play on in NYC.” Don’t despair, Dave, I can confirm that there is a triple bill of Ghost Whisperer is now on ION HD. It’s the one where she whispers some ghosts. Three times.

While the NYCFC starters are (you may need a microscope to read these names):

And your Red Bulls starting line-up is:

And remember, anything more than 284 beers is silly:

Well, the NYCFC fans are particularly peppy this evening (it’s a beautiful evening in New York, by the way):

Hello! And welcome to the first New York derby between the Red Bulls and UAE City F... sorry, Manchester Ci... sorry, Melbourne Ci... sorry: New York City FC! While the game has generated plenty of headlines, it still doesn’t have, well, ANY history as yet. But there’s only one way to change that and that’s by getting 22 men to kick each other for around 90 minutes with a few goals to round things off. It should be a physical affair anyway, with control of midfield crucial. Still, no doubt that will comprise of pretty passing and dazzling displays of skills, won’t it, Dax McCarty: “I think the first 15, 20 minutes will be ugly,” McCarty told MLS.com. “I think it’s going to be a battle for ground in a physical confrontation, which you want to try to set the tone early. But after the first initial wave of pressure from both teams, you hope the game settle down and turns into a more pretty affair to watch.”

Pah! Let’s ask someone else: “In a derby day game like Sunday, I think it just comes out naturally,” Bradley Wright-Phillips says. “Both teams, for the first 15 minutes, ignore the soccer side of the game and it’s just a fight. I think whoever wins that battle will probably win the game.”

Surely, somone is getting excited?

“I think the excitement might a little more on the fans’ side, if I’m being honest,” Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan told MLS.com.

Right, fight it is then.