Alonso Martinez leads New York City FC to 1-0 Game 1 win over Charlotte FC
Courtesy; New York City FC
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City’s playoff run started on a high note with a 1-0 road win against Charlotte FC tonight. The decisive goal came in the 34th minute from Alonso Martinez.
Here are three observations from tonight’s match.
New York City controls early
From the opening whistle, New York City controlled much of the run of play. First, an early burst of effort led to a pair of chances for Alonso Martinez inside the opening five minutes, with the first being saved by Kahlina and the second missing the target.
While the volume of chances decreased after that early burst, the match still flowed through New York City, who held 60 percent of possession with a 6-1 shooting advantage through the first half hour. After the match, New York City head coach Pascal Jansen credited the strong start to his side’s effective high press.
“Our high pressure was spot on - I think we regained a lot of possession before they even crossed the midline,” Jansen said. “We had to reward ourselves also from these good moments in order to get more chances out of these regains.”
Martinez breaks the deadlock
Martinez has been the lynch pin of the New York City attack throughout the regular season, with 17 of the club’s 50 goals across 34 matches.
In the 34th minute, Martinez broke through again in the playoffs. After taking the ball at the edge of the penalty area, Martinez played the ball ahead to work his way past the Charlotte backline before slotting the ball past Kahlina to open the scoring for New York City.
It was Martinez’s second career playoff goal, and it capped off a dominant first half where the Boys in Blue outshot Charlotte 8-3.
“He’s been magnificent for us. The growth he’s shown us throughout the season has been tremendous,” Jansen said. “His mentality in order to become better every day is what I see in training, and that’s what gets him to this level today. [It was] a special goal at a special moment in a special game.”
New York City holds off late Charlotte push
When both sides returned to the pitch for the second half, the run of play quickly shifted as Charlotte pushed for an equalizer. Through the final 45 minutes of play, Charlotte held 58 percent of the ball with a 6-4 shooting advantage in the final 45 minutes of play.
While Charlotte controlled much more of the ball in the second half, New York City’s backline did a good job of limiting the number of quality chances created as Charlotte’s six shots combined for an expected goal value of just 0.4. Matt Freese made a critical late save in the 88th minute, where he denied Ashley Westwood on a header from close range.
“The quality on the ball was less from our side, which means you have to keep the focus and keep the concentration on a strong, solid defensive organization,” Jansen said. “Throughout this game - but also throughout this season - we’ve shown that we have that mentality and that awareness, and that was so important in the second half today.”
Next Up
The series shifts to the five boroughs, as New York City will have a chance to clinch the series in game 2 at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Live radio commentary will get underway at 2:45 p.m. at newyorkcityfc.com/radio and the Apple TV Home Radio feature.