NYCFC Stuns Atlanta With Second Half Blitz

 

Hannes Wolf flew past the Atlanta defense in the 59th minute...

To make it 4-0 NYCFC. Photos by Jason Schott.

New York City Football Club got in a rhythm on offense, and it flourished into a full-blown symphony as they routed Atlanta United FC, 4-0, on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.

As the first half wound down, NYCFC broke through in the 44th minute when Hannes Wolf intercepted an Atlanta pass in the box, and flicked it to Maxi Moralez, who buried it to make it 1-0.

This was a historic goal for Moralez, as he became the oldest player to score for NYCFC, at 38 years, three months, and 16 days, surpassing Frank Lampard, who was 38 years, two months, and 21 days old.

Moralez has now made 180 starts for NYCFC, which is now a record as well, passing goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who had 179 regular-season starts.

Maxi Moralez celebrates his goal, as Atlanta reacts. Photo by Jason Schott.

After NYCFC took that 1-0 lead into halftime, Mounsef Bakrar scored in the 55th minute, on a one-timer off a pass from Andres Perea, who broke out of a cluster of players battling on the right side.

This was the second goal for Bakrar in the last four matches he's played, and this was his first start in MLS play since April 19. It was Perea's first assist of the season, and third of his MLS career.

It took NYCFC just two minutes to make it 3-0, as Moralez took it down the center of the field and found Wolf, trailing on the left, and he fired one just under the hands of Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan into the right corner.

Then, the frenzy continued in the 59th minute, as Wolf took it himself from midfield and flew by the weary Atlanta defense to bury his second goal in two minutes, and it suddenly was 4-0 NYCFC.

Wolf is now the first NYCFC player to score a pair of goals within three minutes, based on the minute of each goal rather than the exact time that elapsed. Prior to this, three NYCFC players scored twice in four minutes, Lampard, David Villa, and Alonso Martinez.

This was Wolf's third brace of the season, and second against Atlanta, with the first coming on March 29 in a 4-3 road loss. Wolf is now the fourth NYCFC player to have braces in back-to-back games, as he scored a pair in a 2-2 draw at Nashville on May 31 - the other three to have done it are Villa, who did it in two instances, Alexandru Mitrita, and Valentin Castellanos.

NYCFC Head Coach Pascal Jansen was asked what Wold chance in his game to be more effective in front of the net, and he said, "That's interesting because that is the result until now of the progress we made as a team. He had his moments where we were all thinking, 'How could you miss this moment?' and 'Why are you not there?' But it's all about being consistent in your behavior, because you have to be there in the spots where you need to be, where you're expected to be in certain plays, and today was a good example. He was at the right moment, in the right spot and was very clinical in the finish. So that builds confidence for the team in general, but also for the individual player, because he starts to feel and understand more about the things that we discuss in training, in the video analysis, and making sure that he has to maintain that discipline in order to become successful."

The three goals NYCFC scored within a span of four minutes is the fastest in franchise history. The two-minute span between goals is tied for second-fastest in MLS history, matching the MetroStars, Houston Dynamo FC, and FC Dallas. DC United holds the record with three goals in three minutes on July 27, 2003.

NYCFC gathers together to celebrate Mounsef Bakrar's goal that made it 2-0. Photo by Jason Schott.

NYCFC goalkeeper Tomas Romero made the most of his MLS debut, as he recorded a clean sheet, as he made three saves.

Romero is the first NYCFC goalkeeper to notch a shutout in his debut with the club in league play, and is the youngest in team history to record a shutout, as he is 24 years, five months, and 24 days old, passing Luis Barraza, who did it at 24 years, eight months, and 13 days.

On what this win and first start meant for Romero, "Yeah, it's amazing. It's been maybe 18 months since I got here, so I really wanted the opportunity. I saw the chance to play a game, and I'm just happy I got the minutes, the clean sheet, and everything. I think I had a good night, and the team in front of me put in so much work. They gave me a lot of confidence. So it was amazing - I'm really happy with it."

NYCFC improves to 8-4-6, with 28 points, and they move into fifth place in the MLS Eastern Conference. They are now just one point behind third-place Inter Miami (8-5-3, 29 points) and Nashville (8-5-4, 29 points).