NYCFC ready for Red Bulls double-header following comeback win over FC Cincinnati

After beating FC Cincinnati to end a three-game winless streak on Saturday night, NYCFC are ready for a double-header against rivals New York Red Bulls.

The Pigeons had picked up just one point from their previous three games, losing to Nashville and the New England Revolution before drawing 1-1 with FC Dallas.

But despite going 1-0 down early on to a struggling Cincinnati side, Ronny Deila's men were able to fight back with goals from Keaton Parks and Taty Castellanos delivering all three points at TQL Stadium.

NYCFC face back-to-back Hudson River derbies against the Red Bulls in their next games, so this victory couldn't have come at a better time.

Scorer of the opening goal, Parks, says the aim is for NYCFC to take maximum points from their fierce rivals.

“We're going in to win both games," he told reporters after Saturday's match. "This year, both of our home stadiums have been Yankee Stadium and Red Bull and you can call it an away game but we're ready to play them at Red Bull. We're especially ready to play them at Yankee Stadium but we're going in to win both games.

"We're going to give it our all in both games. We're not going to save any type of energy or anything like that, we're going in to steal all six points.”

Parks also highlighted the importance of the victory to team morale as NYCFC head into a couple of high-pressure matches.

"It's really important," he added. "We've had a bad streak of games. We are a team that always wants to win no matter where we are. We're a team who's very confident, we think we should win every game and we try to put our best foot forward and work hard to win every game. So, losses hurt us, you know. So, this win was big for us, especially heading into a week of two derbies. We're looking forward to bringing that momentum with us.”

Manager Deila was full of praise for the mentality his side showed to come from behind against Cincinnati, believing that'll stand them in good stead for the upcoming rivalry games.

“You noticed we have had a tough streak with away games that we haven't gotten what we wanted," he told reporters. "We've been so close and now we get it. I think it's easy to lose concentration in this case when we go down one-zero. But the way we just kept calm, played the game, and got back into it; this just shows a lot of character. So very, very impressed and proud of the way we came back into the game again.

"And now the local derbies, that's a totally different game. I don't think I need to add any extra motivation there. We know what we want and we're looking forward to the games.”

NYCFC are third in the Eastern Conference, though just seven points separate them from Columbus Crew down in 10th.

Following their double-header against the Red Bulls, NYCFC face an away trip to the Chicago Fire.