NYCFC Stays Alive, Takes Series Back To Cincinnati

 

The celebration was on for Thiago Martins' goal toward the end of the first half. Photo by Jason Schott.

New York City Football Club evened their series with FC Cincinnati in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One, as they won 3-1 at Citi Field on Saturday evening in front of 19,585 fans.

The final game of this three-game series will be next Saturday, November 9, at 4:00 p.m.

After getting shutout, 1-0, in the opening game, last Monday night, NYCFC didn't take long to get on the board in this one.

Alonso Martinez buried one from the center of the box in the 23rd minute, with Mitja Ilenic notching the assist.

NYCFC doubled their lead in the 40th minute when Thiago Martins put in a header from the top of the box.

With the score 2-0 a bit into the second half, Cincinnati began to throw the house, and Luca Orellano buried one from the center of the box to get them on the board.

Cincinnati kept the pressure on, with NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese turning away multiple A+ chances deep into the second half.

With seven minutes of extra time, their lead would be tested until the final minute, when NYCFC was awarded a penalty kick.

Santiago Rodriguez buried it with a shot to his left that eluded Cincinnati FC goalkeeper Roman Celentano to make it 3-1, and as Bill Belichick would say, they're on to Cincinnati.

Santi Rodriguez burying the penalty kick. Photo by Jason Schott.

NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese made four saves to earn the win. NYCFC had 14 shots, five on goal to 11 overall and six on net for Cincinnati.

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

On the contributions of Alonso Martinez to this win: "I can't speak highly enough of his contribution. Sixteen [goals] in the regular season, now [one in] the second game of the postseason. It's a really important goal. I thought his work rate tonight was excellent. I thought his commitment, in the sense of everything outside of just goal scoring, was top. He got the chance and he took it, and I thought he was unlucky with the second chance, which was incredibly difficult. He's a big player for us and delivered in the big moment.

On how NYCFC handled Cincinnati's second half intensity: "I said at half time that I expected them [FC Cincinnati] to [bring it]. This is the format. They've got nothing to lose. They've got a game in their pocket. At 2-0 down, they can put seven players on our back line and just play direct and play for second balls. We can control the game better with the ball, which means that they don't get so much volume of direct play. I've said before in playoff football, you've got to absorb pressure, and you've got to be able to take the knocks and when they score and get a foothold back in the game. We're a team that wants to play with the ball, but when you're under pressure against a team that is free and has nothing to lose, you got to make sure that you come up with big moments.

"Matt Freese, Justin Haak, Thiago Martins, James Sands, Mitja Ilenic - I thought they were excellent. Kevin O'Toole was top. We spoke about having to absorb pressure in the away game and the home game and I thought for those 15 minutes where they came on top of us, we did that extremely well."