HARRISON - New York is still red.

The New York Red Bulls defeated New York City F.C. (NYCFC) 4-1 on Sunday and claimed their second consecutive regular-season series against their cross-Hudson rivals.

"It's nice for New York to be red again," Red Bulls captain Dax McCarty said after the game. "I take a lot of pride in playing in big rivalry games. It feels good to walk out victorious against a big rival."

This is the rivalry the MLS hoped for and wanted when they decided to put a second team in New York. Sunday's match was marked by chippy play -- six yellow cards were awarded in the second half alone -- and there was no love lost between both team's coaches.

NYCFC coach Patrick Vieira was ejected in the 34th minute and got into a verbal exchange with .Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch. After the game, Vieira refused to shake Marsch's hand and said Marsch should "stop crying."

On the other end, Red Bulls fans relished in their team's offensive onslaught and chanted "start the buses" and "who's your daddy?" in the game's waning moments.

"The fourth goal was really the best," Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan said after Sunday's game. "It was a good feeling. You could see in the stands, you know they start chanting 'we want 7, we want 8' and 'New York is red.' It meant a lot to the fans tonight and it was fun to celebrate with them at home."

The Red Bulls have won five out of the last six regular-season meetings against NYCFC. The Red Bulls have owned this rivalry, but they felt slighted by the way NYCFC celebrated their first Hudson River Derby victory on July 3.

NYCFC posed for a championship-like picture after their first victory against the Red Bulls, and that left some on the Red Bulls feeling "ticked off." The Red Bulls brushed that aside on Sunday, but players in the locker room didn't forget what happened after the previous match against NYCFC.

"It was kind of surprising," Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles said after Sunday's game. "There's some really big names over there and they've won some big trophies and been a part of some huge competitions. For them to get all riled up, it adds to the rivalry. For us, it's another day at the office."

NYCFC entered as the Eastern Conference's top team and, with Sunday's victory, the Red Bulls put themselves just two points behind NYCFC in the standings. The Red Bulls won't meet NYCFC again in the regular-season.

"Can you imagine if we meet each other in the playoffs?" Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles said after Sunday's game.

The Red Bulls will go on the road to face the Chicago Fire on July 31.

Daniel Falkenheim may be reached at DFalkenheim@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Thefalkon. Find NJ.com on Facebook.