HARRISON, N.J. – New York City FC pass yet another test to keep pace for a home playoff spot with a 3-2 win over FC Cincinnati at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night. A dominant first half saw Mitja Ilenic score his first MLS goal and Alonso Martinez doubled the lead in the second half to assure City of their victory.
Tactically NYCFC dominated the first half with slick passing and strong ball possession. While they didn’t create as many chances as they would have liked, City still were able to keep a dangerous Cincinnati team to few chances while taking advantage of their own. It was in the 15th minute that Ilenic fired the ball from outside the box, beating the defense and FCC goalkeeper to put City ahead. The pressure continued but few chances found their way to goal.
The second half saw Cincinnati make a substitution that saw them improve significantly with the inclusion of Yamil Asad. The away side were able to possess the ball better and create more chances. However, it mattered little as Martinez doubled the lead in the 65th minute on the counter when Santiago Rodriguez assisted to play Martinez in on net. The team’s leading scorer increased his total and effectively ended the game.
Cincinnati didn’t stop their pursuit of points as they drew a penalty after a handball and converted it off the foot of Luciano Acosta. City responded quickly, drawing their own penalty in the 74th minute after a referee review. The goal put them ahead 3-1 and guaranteed a second straight win for New York City. Despite this, Cincinnati didn’t let up, scoring a stoppage-time goal to make it close, 3-2.
The win keeps NYCFC on pace for fourth place, two points back of Orlando City and tied with New York Red Bulls. Next up is another game at Red Bull Arena, this time on Sunday against Nashville SC, who has taken pleasure in playing spoiler with playoff bound teams in recent weeks.
STARTING XI:
New York City FC: Freese; Ilenic (85′ Gray), Martins, Haak, O’Toole, Sands, Perea, Wolf, Moralez (85′ Risa), Rodriguez (90′ Tanasijevic), Martinez (76′ Bakrar)
FC Cincinnati: Celentano; Powell (61′ Murphy), Robinson, Hadebe (46′ Asad), Yedlin (90′ Keller), Nwobodo, Bucha, Orellano (81′ Baird), Acosta, Kubo (81′ Gioacchini), Kelsey
SCORING SUMMARY:
15′ (NYCFC) Mitja Ilenic (1) assisted by Maxi Moralez
65′ (NYCFC) Alonso Martinez (15) assisted by Santiago Rodriguez
69′ (FC Cincinnati) Luciano Acosta (14) – PK
74′ (NYCFC) Santiago Rodriguez (10) – PK
90′ (FC Cincinnati) Corey Baird (3) unassisted
DISCIPLINE:
34′ (FC Cincinnati) Kevin Kelsey – YELLOW CARD
42′ (NYCFC) James Sands – YELLOW CARD
67′ (NYCFC) Thiago Martins – YELLOW CARD
84′ (NYCFC) Andres Perea – YELLOW CARD
90′ (NYCFC) Tayvon Gray – YELLOW CARD
90′ (NYCFC) Hannes Wolf – YELLOW CARD
photo by Jordan Bank