The New York City Football Club improved to 2-1-1 on the season after a come from behind win over the winless (and goalless) New England Revolution. The match kept to a slow start initially until the 26th minute when, in an unexpected twist, New England finally got on the board for the first time this season after an accidental redirect by NYCFC Defender/Captain Thiago Martins redirected the ball with his left foot past goalkeeper Matt Freese for the 1-0 score. NYCFC did pick up the equalizer 12 minutes later as Hannes Wolf found Julian Fernandez on the right side of the box for the 1-1 score.
However it was the second half where NYCFC finally pulled ahead, courtesy of a stellar goal by Alonso Martinez 68 minutes in off a rebound from a Keaton Parks shot giving the team the lead for the first time in the match. Afterwards, head coach Pascal Jansen had this to say: “If you look at the score sheet, their contributions were quite strong this game. On the other hand, I see them train every day, and they work so hard to improve. That’s the culture we’re building—never being satisfied. Alonso [Martínez] is always hunting for goals, sometimes a little too much, which makes him miss opportunities to involve teammates, but it’s still a strong quality of his. Juli [Julián Fernández] is trying to establish himself in the team by working hard, both in games and in training. I see the same level of effort every day. I’m happy for them because they are part of the team and contributed to our success today.”
Next up, NYCFC heads to Columbus for the first of 2 road matches before heading to Atlanta for a reunion with former head coach (and NYCFC 2021 MLS Cup Finals champion Ronny Delia)
5 STATS
1) Thiago Martins’s OG at 26 was the team’s first Own Goal since 2023 when Richy Ledezma scored on his own net while playing Charlotte. Prior to that was 2022 when it was Thiago Martins again.
2) The team played without Defender Kevin O’Toole who was serving a Red Card Suspension. It was the team’s 1st Red Card of the season and 6th since the 2023 season.
3) NYCFC’s last Clean Sheet was back on July 13, 2024, making this the 19th straight match without one. Their record during this time is 7W-6L-6D (including the playoffs)
4) With the win as of this writing the team sits in 6th place in the East. In a humorous note, per PlayoffStatus.com the team has a 68% chance of reaching the postseason.
5) Next up the team will be heading to Columbus to take on the Crew NYCFC is 1W-8L-5D in 14 road matches against Wilifred Nancy’s club, including being winless in their last 9 against the Ohio club.