Early goal pushes New York City FC past FC Cincinnati in 1-0 win
Courtesy: New York City FC
By Chris Tsakonas
NEW YORK - An early goal from Julian Fernandez was enough to push New York City FC to a 1-0 win over FC Cincinnati in front of 21,611 supporters at Citi Field this afternoon.
Here are three observations from New York City’s fifth win of the season.
Aggressive start pays off for New York City
Through the first 10 matches of the season, New York City had struggled to find the back of the net early - with only two of the club’s 12 goals coming in the opening 30 minutes.
Today, New York City was able to buck that trend. In the 9th minute, a cross from the left was deflected by a Cincinnati defender to find the feet of Julian Fernandez at the top of the penalty area. Fernandez found the back of the net to open the scoring and snap a 285-minute personal scoring drought.
That was part of a dominant opening 20 minutes for New York City, who outshot Cincinnati by a 7-1 margin while holding 64 percent of the possession during that stretch.
Defense holds on late to keep clean sheet
Another area where New York City has struggled in the early part of the year has been defending late in games. Out of the 13 goals conceded by New York City this season, six were allowed after the 60th minute.
As the final whistle approached, Cincinnati applied the pressure and created multiple chances to equalize. With just over 10 minutes remaining, the two best chances came in quick succession. First, Gerardo Valenzuela got on the end of a ball from Luca Orellano for a close-range effort that was stopped by Matt Freese. Off the ensuing corner, Miles Robinson got off a right-footed strike that was blocked by Nico Cavallo.
Martinez nearly adds to strong start to 2025
Alonso Martinez has been the focal point of the New York City attack this season, scoring six of the club’s 13 goals. Martinez couldn’t add to that tally in this match - but it wasn’t for a lack of chances.
Martinez’s best scoring chance came in the 14th minute, as he stepped up to take a penalty kick with a chance to double the lead - only to hit the right post. In the second half, Martinez almost capitalized on the counter-attack, as he got around Roman Celentano but missed the target on the sharp-angle shot.
While Martinez didn’t find the scoresheet in this match, he remains just a goal back of the lead in the Golden Boot race. San Jose’s Cristian Arango, Chicago’s Hugo Cuypers and Philadelphia’s Tai Baribo are in a three-way tie for the lead after matchweek 11.
Next Up
After a Wednesday night Open Cup match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, New York City will cross the East River to host CF Montreal at Yankee Stadium next Saturday night. Live radio commentary with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence will get underway at 7:15 P.M. on newyorkcityfc.com/radio and the Apple TV Home Radio feature.