NYCFC Cruises By Chicago As It Climbs Up Standings

 

NYCFC put the game away when Alonso Martinez scored on this penalty kick in the 89th minute. Photo by Jason Schott.

New York City Football Club won their second in a row with a dominant 3-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

This was their second straight win, after they won the Hudson River Derby over the Red Bulls a week ago Saturday. They improved to 7-3-5, with 24 points, on the season, now in sixth place in the MLS Eastern Conference. They are one point ahead of Leo Messi and Inter Miami, who have 26 points and a 6-5-3 record, and also just three points out of third place, as Nashville, Orlando City, and Columbus all have 27 points. 

Chicago got on the board first in this one, as Philip Zinckernagel shot one from just outside the box along the grass, and it slid by MYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese into the left corner of the net to make it 1-0 in the 19th minute.

The Fire would hand back that advantage in the 31st minute when Brian Gutierrez went up and clipped NYCFC midfielder Aiden O'Neill in the face as he crossed the field on the right side. 

That resulted in a red card for Gutierrez, as the ball was clearly by, and he left his feet with his shoulder raised, looking to make contact.

NYCFC had plenty of chances, including receiving a corner kick in the 52nd minute, but they could not tie it before halftime.

NYCFC's corner kick in the 52nd minute. Photo by Jason Schott.

NYCFC switched it up at halftime, as they sent Mounsef Bakrar on for Johnny Shore, and Mitja Ilenic replaced Tayvon Gray.

One of those subs would make an impact, as Bakrar found his way to the center of the box in the 58th minute, in the perfect spot to receive a pass from Justin Haak from the left side, and he buried it to tie the game at 1.

This was Bakrar's first goal of the season, and it was the first time an NYCFC substitute has found his way to the scoresheet this year.

It was such a big moment that NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese raced to the center of the pitch to greet his teammates after the goal. Photo by Jason Schott.

Hannes Wolf, who kept possession in the corner before getting it to Haak, also received an assist on the play.

A short time later, in the 70th minute, it would be Wolf who would find the back of the net to give NYCFC a 2-1 edge.

Maxi Moralez brought the ball into Chicago territory before dropping it off to Julian Fernandez, who took it into the corner before sending it back to the top of the box, where Wolf was waiting for it, and despite being spun around by a Chicago defender, fired one into the top right corner of the net.

NYCFC celebrates taking the lead in the 71st minute in front of the fan section. Photo by Jason Schott.

This was the first time Wolf had two goal contributions in a match since March 29 when he scored twice against Atlanta.

Moralez also received an assist on the goal, his second goal contribution in as many matches, as he scored against the Red Bulls on May 17.

In the 84th minute, Agustin Ojeda, who entered just five minutes earlier, was taken down in the box by Chicago midfielder Dje D'Avila.

This was the second yellow card of the game for D'Avilla, resulting in a red card and an ejection. This would give NYCFC a two-player advantage the rest of the way.

Chicago protested after the penalty was called. Photo by Jason Schott.

After it went to a review, the call was upheld and NYCFC received a penalty kick. 

Alonso Martinez took it, and buried with a shot straight to the center of the net, beating Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady, who went to his right, to make it 3-1 NYCFC and seal the win.

Alonso Martinez about to take the penalty kick. Photos by Jason Schott.

The goal as it went in, with an NYCFC player celebrating at right. 

"I'm very happy with the character the team showed in the second half," NYCFC Head Coach Pascal Jansen said afterwards. "But to be fair, we made it very hard on ourselves. Being a goal down at halftime with the chances that we missed in the first half is tough, but it's the reality. So, with the red card for the opponent, we switched gears, brought another attacker, and had to take defender Tayvon (Gray) off. The decision was made based on his yellow card because sometimes you might have to take a little bit more risk and chase the goal. You could see once we had the equalizer, things started to settle down and then we could go and look for the second one. But there's one moment that made it very, very clear what our determination was about in the second half, and that is the moment that forward Mounsef Bakrar - coming on as a second striker - did the dirty labor trying to prevent them from scoring. In that moment, he intercepted in the box, and that shows everything we were about in the second half."

This ended a run of seven straight MLS games for NYCFC in which they or their opponent was shutout. Within this stretch, NYCFC has now notched four of the shutouts in MLS games, while they were kept off the board on April 19 in New England, May 10 against Montreal, and in this one. This technically was their eighth overall involving a shutout, as they were blanked on Wednesday, May 7, in the US Open Cup when they lost 1-0 to USL side Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

NYCFC remains unbeaten at home against Chicago in franchise history, with a record of 9-3-0 in 12 matches. In those games, NYCFC has outscored them 22-8.