Frisco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of interconference rivals will clash on Friday as Red Bull New York travels to Toyota Stadium to face FC Dallas.
FC Dallas has been at or near the top of the Western Conference all season and enter Friday's clash with 20 points hoping to extend their current unbeaten streak to five games following last Saturday's 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on home soil.
FC Dallas fell behind just prior to the hour mark when Gyasi Zardes found himself unmarked in front of goal to nod home a corner kick off the boot of Stefan Ishizaki.
But FC Dallas pulled level in the 77th minute as Blas Perez got free to fire home his sixth goal of the season before Tesho Akindele, the reigning MLS Rookie of the Year, was left alone to fire home his fourth of the campaign and give FCD the lead.
Los Angeles sent numbers forward late on in search of an equalizer as the fourth official's board showed three minutes of added time, but the Dallas defense held out for the victory.
New York, meanwhile, comes into the match looking to extend its winning streak to two games following a 2-1 triumph over New York City FC in the inaugural New York Derby.
Bradley Wright-Phillips opened the scoring for the Red Bulls after four minutes and added a second goal in the 52nd minute before Patrick Mullins pulled one back for the expansion side.
The Red Bulls struck first as Lloyd Sam made a move and sent a cross in front of the goal and Wright-Phillips was standing alone and tapped the ball in to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead.
Sam made a long run and crossed a pass to Sacha Kljestan, who crossed the ball back to the middle of the box. Wright-Phillips deposited the ball in the back of the net to double the margin.
Kwadwo Poku crossed a ball to the corner of the box and RJ Allen sent the ball into the center of the box where Mullins scored on a sliding effort to cut the lead to 2-1.
"I wanted our team to use the emotion in the right way, but also stay focused on the things we felt we needed to do to command the game," said Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch. "Obviously we get an early goal which we've been talking about having better starts, but then they actually pushed the game a bit and now had a series of corner kicks and were playing in our end and so you got to give them credit for their response after it went 1-0. And then in the end, again when we go down a man, I think every guy just dug in and emptied the tank."
"Every derby is different they all have their own thing. This one is special because it is new and both teams are trying to get off to a best start and we did it, I am just happy we won," Wright-Phillips said of the first New York derby. "We can let history tell the story and in the future, for me it's not about that we got three points it is not about that we won the battle for our fans. I am just delighted."
This will be first clash between the sides this season, in last season's lone meeting, New York claimed a 1-0 win over Dallas thanks to a 71st-minute strike from Wright-Phillips.
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