New York City FC (NYCFC) snapped a three-game winless streak with a deserved 1-0 victory over Philadelphia Union at CitiField Saturday night.
Alonso Martinez’s well-taken goal 10 minutes into the second half proved the difference between the sides in what NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen described as a “dogfight” in the swirling rain in Queens.
NYCFC, who had taken just one point from their last three games following back-to-back defeats against Atlanta and Minnesota, went into Saturday’s game 11th in the Eastern Conference after a disappointing start to the season.
However, they were full value for their win over a Philadelphia side that had made a promising start to the season under new coach Bradley Carnell to place third in the East after seven games.
Jansen’s side kicked on after an even opening period to stamp their authority on the occasion in the second half, with Martinez taking advantage of a goalkeeping error to score his fifth league goal of the season.
NYCFC was much improved from seven days ago when they went down to a 2-1 home defeat against Minnesota, winning the majority of second balls in promising positions to exploit the exposed Philadelphia defense. Midfielders Johnny Shore and Keaton Parks, in particular, forced numerous turnovers to set NYCFC on the counterattack, with NYCFC often playing over the Philadelphia press and sweeping up the second ball.
Jansen described the performance as the response he anticipated following the back-to-back losses, describing the win as “very important” to NYCFC’s season.
“We were switched on from the start today, ready for a fight,” Jansen said.
Both sides had chances in an error-strewn first half, with NYCFC going closest to scoring on 12 minutes when Kevin O’Toole sent an inviting delivery across the face of goal. Agustin Ojeda’s initial touch was poor but inadvertently teed up the onrushing Hannes Wolf, who saw his fierce close-range effort well smothered by Andrew Rick.
With the goal at his mercy, Ojeda blazed the follow-up high and wide.
NYCFC was almost the architect of its downfall six minutes later when Thiago Martins’ misplaced pass sent Quinn Sullivan through on goal, only for Justin Haak to spare Martins’ blushes with a crucial last-ditch block as Sullivan looked set to score.
Sullivan, involved throughout, caused havoc in the NYCFC penalty area midway through the first half when his low cross found Tai Baribo, who saw his goalbound effort blocked by Martins.
Both sides struggled for accuracy in the final third throughout the first half, evidenced by the fact that they managed just one shot on target between them in the opening 45 minutes.
As if to underline that point, NYCFC squandered another excellent opening with five minutes remaining in the half when the excellent Shore nipped in to win possession in midfield and sent Martinez scampering towards goal.
The Costa Rican striker opted to square to Ojeda but overhit the pass, and the chance went begging.
NYCFC looked a different outfit in the second half and was inches away from taking the lead when Shore cracked a fierce first-time effort just wide of the post after 53 minutes.
They did take the lead two minutes later when Martinez latched onto a Mitja Ilenic long ball and calmly slotted into an empty net from an acute angle after Rick had rashly rushed from his goal.
That goal seemed to spur the hosts on further, with Jansen’s side consistently pressing a visibly rattled Philadelphia outfit into mistakes.
Martinez spurned an excellent chance to double his and NYCFC’s tally on 64 minutes when Parks tenaciously won back possession in midfield and sent the striker racing through on goal. Martinez, however, hesitated for a second too long and allowed Olwethu Makhanya to make a goal-saving block.
Philadelphia, perhaps naturally, gradually gained the ascendancy as they searched for an equalizer in the final 20 minutes but struggled to create genuine opportunities in the closing moments.
Substitute Chris Donovan came closest to equalizing for the visitors with ten minutes remaining when he met Nathan Harriel’s cross with a powerful header from the edge of the area but saw his effort beaten away by Freese with relative comfort.
Relative comfort just about describes how NYCFC saw out the final moments, with an insipid Philadelphia failing to test Freese again in a disappointing last stand.
NYCFC next faces consecutive away trips against New England and Toronto before returning to Citi Field on May 4 for a date with Cincinnati.
New York has still not made any significant business in the transfer market ahead of the April 23 deadline, but Jansen said he is happy to wait until summer to find the right players.
“I’ve mentioned this before, we want to get the right players in,” Jansen said. “If that takes – longer going into the summer window when the European window is open – we’ll use that window.”
