New York City FC (NYCFC) was knocked out of the Leagues Cup by defending Liga MX champions Deportivo Toluca on Tuesday night, losing 2-1 despite scoring an early goal at Yankee Stadium.
The Boys in Blue finished outside of qualifying spots for the knockout rounds of the competition and a potential place in the CONCACAF Champions League. A 3-0 defeat to Club Puebla on Matchday 1 gave NYCFC too much to do on the final day, even though a promising 2-0 win against Club León followed.
With NYCFC needing nothing less than a win, Alonso Martínez stepped up with a 10th-minute goal to lead the way for his team. However, a two-goal Toluca blitz towards the end of the first half punished NYCFC’s defending.
“It was a good start to the game from us,” head coach Pascal Jansen said. “Unfortunately, we had to make a substitution, and we had less control in that area, so we got punished immediately.”
Agustín Ojeda found the Costa Rican striker just outside the penalty box, and with two touches, Martínez tucked the ball between two Toluca defenders and into the bottom right corner.
The Boys in Blue found moments of joy down their right flank in the first half, with Martínez, Maxi Moralez, and Nico Fernández Mercau combining well. Every chance City managed to create in the first 45 minutes came from a player down that wing; however, Toluca was finding similar opportunities.
Starting right-back Tayvon Gray went down injured, holding his hamstring in the 23rd minute, but managed to limp back onto the pitch. However, it looked like the 22-year-old could not sprint at full speed, and the Toluca attackers started targeting his side of the pitch.
Gray was eventually replaced at 31 minutes by Mitja Ilenič. Six minutes later, Toluca’s Helinho found space down NYCFC’s left wing, and using the outside of his boot, whipped in a curling cross that forward Paulinho slammed onto the crossbar.
Center-backs Justin Haak and Stranhinja Tanasejević could not react in time, and Jesús Angulo found himself at the right spot at the right time, knocking home the equalizer from six yards out.
Toluca got their second not two minutes later, as a flowing Diablos Rojos move that started in their own half slipped in Paulinho to score past Freese and stun NYCFC into silence. The linesman’s flag immediately went up for offside, and after a four-minute wait, which brewed tensions, referee Pierre-Luc Lauziere gave the goal.
Already unhappy with a few decisions thus far, captain Moralez had a prolonged word with Lauziere, but the goal stood.
The high stakes and emotions came to the fore when Moralez was brought down inside the Toluca half by Marcel Ruiz. The Argentine lashed out, starting a 22-man skirmish that saw Tanasejević, Aidan O’Neill, Jesús Gallardo, and Andrew Pereira booked for their involvement.
With an extra eight minutes of added time in the first half, Freese saved a last-minute Toluca counterattack with a strong arm to keep the deficit to one and his side in the match.
With Toluca in the driving seat for the start of the second half, the Liga MX side was happy to pass the ball around, waiting for NYCFC to overplay their pressing position.
It almost worked to a tee for Los Diablos Rojos in the 54th minute, when they seemed to be passing the ball around their backline aimlessly to “Ole!”’s from their fans, but a quick switch and ball over the top saw Helinho threaten NYCFC’s goal again.
The closest NYCFC came in the second half was when the ball bounced out to Ilenič about 30 yards out from goal. The young Slovenian connected with the effort sweetly, sending the ball spinning towards Luis García’s top right corner. The Mexican was able to stretch out an arm to tip the shot just wide.
Toluca immediately went up the other end, and it was Helinho again finding space inside City’s box to line up a left-footed chance. Freese was left rooted to the spot as he watched the ball hit the outside of his far post to avoid conceding a third.
The match continued to open up as NYCFC looked for an equalizer and a winner in the final 20 minutes. Substitutes Hannes Wolf and Julián Fernández combined to play in Martínez. With enough space to shoot, the Costa Rican thumped his effort against the underside of the crossbar, to sighs of relief from the Toluca fans behind the goal.
“I said to my guys during halftime, we have to show more courage,” Jansen said. “In the final part of the first half, we were looking a little bit hesitant on the ball. So, they did exactly what I asked for them in the second half, but then you have to finish one of those chances.”
The Boys in Blue kept pushing for a second, with Martínez hitting the post and Jansen throwing on Seymour Garfield-Reid for Justin Haak, the only recognized central defender left on the pitch for NYCFC, in the final six minutes.
It was too little, too late, though, as City could not fashion another chance to test Garcia in goal, ending their Leagues Cup run for another season.
The Boys in Blue play the Columbus Crew next in the MLS on Saturday night at Citi Field.
