Jonny Jolts NYCFC Early, Martinez Delivers Late In Dallas

 

Jonny Shore after his goal. Provided by NYCFC.

New York City Football Club closed out their road trip with a 4-3 win over FC Dallas on Friday night.

NYCFC notched two wins and a draw after opening the trip with a loss in Charlotte, and they are now 11-5-8, with 38 points, in eighth place in the MLS Eastern Conference. Charlotte also has 38 points, but they are ahead of them on a tiebreaker, as they are 12-2-11. They are just four points behind Leo Messi's Inter Miami, who are in fifth with 42 points (12-6-4) and Philadelphia leads the East with a record of 15-5-5, and 50 points.

Jonny Shore gave NYCFC the early lead in this one, as he scored on a a header in the 11th minute, off a feed from Maxi Moralez.

This was Shore's first goal of the season, and with it, he became the youngest player to score for NYCFC, as he is 18 years and 103 days old. He also becomes the fifth homegrown player to score for NYCFC, after midfielders James Sands and Justin Haak, and defenders Tayvon Gray and Andres Jasson.

It took Dallas just four minutes to tie the game, as Peter Musa buried one from the right side of the box.

Then, instantly, in the 17th, Dallas took the lead when Logan Farrington fired one from the right side toward the center of the net.

The score fest continued when Alonso Martinez tied it at 2 for NYCFC in the 22nd minute on a shot from the center of the box. Moralez also got an assist on this one, giving him two on the night and 30 on the road, most in NYCFC history.

It stayed that way deep into the first half, all the way to eight minutes into extra time when Dallas took a 3-2 lead on a goal from Logan Farrington in the 53rd minute.

That didn't last long, as NYCFC pounced in the opening minute of the second half. After a sideline throw in, Aiden O'Neill cut to the middle of the pitch before dropping it off to Hannes Wolf past the center line, and he found a trailing Martinez, who had weaved his way through the Dallas defense to get to the left side of the box, and he snuck it inside the left post to tie the game at 3. 

Though it went down as a goal in the 46th minute, the exact time it occurred was 45:36, just 36 seconds into the second half.

The game remained tied deep into the second half, but Nicolas Fernandez Mercau found Martinez on the right side of box, and he fired it in to make it 4-3 NYCFC.

Alonso Martinez after one of his goals. Provided by NYCFC.

The hat trick for Martinez gives him 12 goals on the season. It is the second straight year he has scored at least 10, making him the third player in NYCFC history to reach that mark in multiple seasons, along with David Villa (four times) and Valentin Castellanos (three). Martinez now has the fourth-most goals in NYCFC history with 28. 

The Leagues Cup between MLS and Liga MX clubs commences next week. NYCFC will be taking on Puebla Tuesday, July 29 at 8:00 P.M. at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. On Friday, August 1, they will be playing Leon at 6:00 P.M., also at S.I. Stadium, followed by a return on Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, August 5 at 7:30 P.M., when they take on Toluca.