The third Hudson River Derby of 2017 is almost upon us.
Following on from two thrilling victories for NYCFC against Red Bulls in June and August, Patrick Vieira’s men can clinch a series sweep with another win on Friday night.
It’s an enticing carrot for fans to consider but, for the players, this is a game which they’ll approach like any other, according to Tommy McNamara.
West Nyack’s finest started the 2-0 win at Red Bull Arena in June and he’s motivated by the prospect of moving closer to Toronto FC at the Eastern Conference summit with the three points.
McNamara told NYCFC.com: “It’s a very important game – Red Bulls are a good team. It’s very difficult in this league to play a team three times to win three games.
“We’re treating this one the same as we’ve treated the past two games and how it always is – there’s three points up for grabs.
“We’re fighting to try and catch Toronto at this point, so these three points are very important for this reason.”
READ: Major Keys to NYCFC vs. Red Bulls
McNamara watched on as his teammates came back from a goal down to defeat New England last time out on Sunday.
The New Yorker paid tribute to the role the fans played, roaring on the Boys in Blue to their third successive victory.
With the opportunity to clinch a joint club record fourth straight triumph on Friday, McNamara is looking for the same concentration and focus.
“It was great to see the fightback of this team and to see the supporters and how loud they got to get behind us in the last game,” Tommy reflected.
“Obviously, we didn’t want to give up the first goal and it was a little bit unlucky but these things happen in soccer. Moving into this week, it’s important to take the mentality that whatever happens in this game we stick together and we’re going to fight through it.
“We’ll have our supporters behind us and there’s a very good chance we can get a result out of the game.”
