NYCFC Notches Win In Citi Field Debut

 

NYCFC and Philadelphia take the field. Photo by Jason Schott.

New York City Football Club made the most of its first game of the season at Citi Field on Saturday night, as they shutout the Philadelphia Union, 1-0, in front of 19,897 fans.

This was NYCFC's first shutout of the season, as goalkeeper Matt Freese made three saves, as they broke a two-game losing streak and a three-match winless streak.

NYCFC is now 3-2-3 with 11 points on the season, and even though they are in 10th place in the MLS Eastern Conference, they are just five points behind first-place Charlotte FC.

It is interesting to note, especially with the turnover of coaches in soccer, that this was NYCFC's first-ever game against a Philadelphia team not coached by Jim Curtin, who was relieved of his duties after a decade-long run for Bradley Carnell.

NYCFC had some solid chances early, but due to the wet turf, there were constant missed connections on the passes or players getting to a certain spot, and Philadelphia countered as the first half went on, and it all resulted in a scoreless first half.

It didn't take long for NYCFC to break through after the break. In the 55th minute, Mitja Ilenic fired a long volley from just outside of the NYCFC box on the right side, and Alonso Martinez broke ahead of the Philadelphia defense to get to it, and in a desperate move, Union goalkeeper Andrew Rick went out to try to knock it away with a slide towards Martinez, and he missed

Martinez sprinted ahead, and had a clear shot at an open net before he buried it to make it 1-0 NYCFC on his fifth goal of the season. It was the first assist of the season for Ilenic. 

NYCFC celebrates Alonso Martinez's goal. Photo by Jason Schott.

Martinez is now the fourth player in NYCFC history to score five goals in the first seven games of a season, after David Villa in 2017, Jesus Medina in 2021 and Valentin "Taty" Castellanos in 2022. Within that, Martinez has scored four goals in the last five games, going back to March 8 against Orlando City SC.

It was the first assist of the season for Ilenic.

COACH'S COMMENTS: NYCFC Head Coach Pascal Jansen addressed the media after the game:

On the game and results: "[It was] very important. I just told the boys—this is the response I already expected last week going into the Minnesota game. We were switched on from the start today, ready for a fight...Philly is a tough side to play, but the guys handled themselves quite well, especially when looking at the previous games we’ve played at home.” 

On the weather and if it affected the play: “Welcome to New York! I was told earlier that the pitch had been adapted for football since Thursday, so that’s something we had to anticipate and deal with. But weather-wise, it wasn’t a problem. One of my players said before we went out, ’We have to be ready for a dogfight,’ and the weather matched that. I think the team responded well to those conditions.”