Juan Carlos Maygua
New York City FC returned to the Bronx for one of the first midweek fixtures of the season. Their recent form coming into the game against FC Cincinnati raised a few questions in terms of managing results. The defeat against Charlotte made this game a must-win for New York City, given that they have been dropping points at home. It was a chance to turn the page and reassure that this was only a seasonal slope.
Another Draw at home
FC Cincinnati arrived with some issues in defense as well. But managed to pull a draw in their fixture against Chicago Fire over the weekend. Two teams with similar momentum, the difference being that one team dominated and lost. The other one came back from behind to rescue a tie. Nevertheless, the defensive issues were present for both teams at Yankee Stadium. New York City FC got the opening goal after a mistake by Cincinnati’s goalkeeper, Roman Celentano, allowed a tap-in for Nicolas Fernandez. The perfect start for the hosts at home.
Unfortunately, Cincinnati also exposed New York’s defensive flaws with its equalizing goal. Kevin Denkey was left unmarked inside New York City’s box. Given what would unfold, the back and forth for the first two goals of the match was a warning. However, New York City FC took the initiative and pushed forward. They were actually able to pinpoint that a pass between the lines seemed to be a good way to create opportunities up front. So much so that Maxi Moralez set up Nicolas Fernandez to gain back the lead for New York City, two minutes after Cincinnati’s equalizer.
Evander was close to equalizing again, but his shot missed the target. Ojeda also had his chance, but Clelentano was quick to close the space for the shot. The back and forth continued from both teams until Aiden O’Neil placed a perfect long ball to find Ojeda with enough space. The young winger took advantage of the space he found and found the back of the net for New York City’s third goal. It seemed like it was game over, ot at least the advantage was such that it was enough to begin time management. But Cincinnati’s Evander would mark a before and after with his goal in the 57th minute.
The midfielder placed a perfect shot from outside the box. The game would have been 3-2 at that point, and it would have been game on once again. However, the VAR ruled out the goal due to a foul before Evander received the pass. New York City retained the lead, but the goal Cincinnati lost became their motivation and could have easily changed the game.
Kevin Denkey would go on and score Cincinnati’s second goal on a set-piece play. As I said, it was game on. New York City was on the ropes once again, and the tension from recent games returned for the ‘Boys In Blue’. The game entered a bit of a setback with a lot of fouls following the goal by the visitors. Manager Pascal Jansen moved some pieces around and decided to give Maxi Moralez some rest, bringing in Talles Magno. The Brazilian only needed 8 minutes to get involved in the score sheet. It was 4-2 by the 79th minute, and it was surely game over. It would have been the perfect ending for such a high goalscoring game, but as they say, it’s not over until it’s over.
Andrei Chirilla refused to give up and scored the third goal for Cincinnati in additional time. The atmosphere at Yankee Stadium completely shifted. The visitors were within one goal of equalizing the game. It was a scenario that New York City was trying to avoid at all costs; it was about to happen again, and another lead was slipping away. Ironically, it would be none other than Evander who would pull a consecutive comeback for FC Cincinnati. A great piece of skill on the wing managed to pull in Kevin O’Toole to get contact inside the box.
He was calm and collected from the spot and sealed the draw in the Bronx. New York City FC dropped points at home once again. One of the key points is that Nicolas Fernandez continues to be vital for the team, but managing games has to become a priority. Aside from this game, Sain Louis and Charlotte would have been 2 games that would have pushed the team to secure the top spots in the conference. The team now focuses on their away fixture against Montreal. But the main objective could be the U.S. Open Cup fixture on Wednesday next week.
