NYCFC Crushed By Late Chicago Comeback

 

NYCFC moving up the field in the 26th minute looking for a third goal. Photo by Jason Schott.

New York City Football Club returned to MLS action on Saturday night at Citi Field, and after they scored two early goals, it appeared they were on their way to a solid win before the Chicago Fire scored two late goals to earn a 2-2 draw.

It only took 15 minutes for NYCFC to get on the board in this one, as Alonso Martinez buried one from the left side of the box. 

Just seven minutes later, Martinez did it again, this time from the center of the box, and this "brace" gave him his 10th goal of the season, which leads NYCFC.

It appeared that NYCFC had a third goal in the 28th minute when Maxi Moralez buried one off a free kick, but he was ruled offside.

They would never get such a high-quality chance the rest of the first half, and it would remain 2-0 NYCFC deep into the second half.

In the 78th minute, Chicago finally broke through, as Hugo Cuypers buried one from the right side to make it 2-1 NYCFC.

As the extra time was winding down, and NYCFC really could taste those three points, they committed a penalty, giving Chicago one last chance at that elusive second goal.

Brian Gutierrez was tasked with taking the penalty kick in the 94th minute, and he buried it to tie the match at 2.

Chicago only had three shots on net all night (nine overall), which meant that NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese made only one save. NYCFC had 12 shots overall, but only four on net, so Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady had a pair of saves.

NYCFC is now 11-6-9, with 39 points, in fifth place in the MLS Eastern Conference standings, just four points behind third-place Columbus (12-7-4, 43 points). Chicago is now 6-8-12, with 26 points, in 13th place in the East.

COACH'S COMMENTS: NCYFC Head Coach Nick Cushing addressed the media after the game: 

On if this game feels like a step back after a strong Leagues Cup run: "In the good moments you realize that you are making progress, maturing and learning from that side of the game. You see tonight from this side of the game that we're strong, building the game, pressing the game, counter-pressing the game, and attacking the game. The other side of the game is the side of the game that experiences gives you, that going through those moments gives you, which doesn't just change overnight. I've said it before and I will continue to say that progress is really disheartening and really demotivating, and progress is really difficult in the moment. So, it was really tough in [FC] Cincinnati and then we enjoyed some moments. We got to make sure though that this isn't an every four weeks tings now, it hasn't been. At the moment it feels like it is. For us it's about taking the pain. I've said before and I believe that tough times make top teams and tough times make strong teams and make winning teams and I really believe it. For us, it's about feeling the pain and working through it and making sure we take the positives [from it]."

On how to not let this result ruin the progress of the last month: "I thought we played well again tonight in the sense of possession, how we progressed the ball, and our style. When you look at both teams, we play the same style. Everybody wants to come watch, and we're creating chances; we're having box entries, and we've got one point. All of that doesn't really matter when you can't execute in both boxes. We have to. It's not [about] offense, it's not defense, it's not attackers, it's not defenders: it's the team. We have to execute both boxes to win football games. The bit in the middle is the brand that you choose to play and train for. I'm not sitting here saying we played really well tonight. Ultimately, we didn't do enough in both boxes to take away the win, and that includes me as head coach. We have to look at [tonight's game] and we have to continue to improve."

On Alonso Martinez's performance: "We moved him off the wing and into the number nine because he's so clinical. We've been doing a lot of work with him on his movement, on his understanding of being a striker, because it's different. We brought [him] from Belgium, a second division team, playing as a right or left winger. We turned him into a number nine in the sense of understanding how to play the position, knowing that when he gets the moment, he's super clinical and he continues to show. That's why he plays the position."