First-half goals lead New York City FC to 2-1 road win over Philadelphia Union
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City FC will enter the Hudson River Derby with five wins in the last six matches after beating the Philadelphia Union 2-1 on the road tonight.
Both goals for New York City came in the first half, as Alonso Martinez opened the scoring in the second minute and Hannes Wolf added to the lead with a goal in the second minute of first half stoppage time. Julian Carranza pulled one back for the Union in the 47th minute.
Here are three observations from New York City’s latest win.
Quick start leads to early goal
It didn’t take long for New York City to open the scoring - in the second minute of the match, Andres Perea started a counter attack with a long ball to find Santi Rodriguez on the right side of the box. Rodriguez delivered a low cross to the back left post, and Martinez finished to give New York City the lead with the club’s earliest goal of the season.
“I'm really pleased that we are creating from transition moments and it shows that we're improving,” head coach Nick Cushing said after the match.
Wolf delivers on free kick
New York City doubled the lead towards the end of the first half when Hannes Wolf took a narrow-angle free kick from the near right side and found the top left corner of the net on a shot with an expected goal value of 0.04.
The goal was Wolf’s first in MLS play since signing with the club before the start of the season - and it comes after he assisted two of New York City’s three goals in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Toronto FC.
“[I'm] incredibly pleased, because Hannes is another one that works like an animal,” Cushing said. “[Wolf] has been disappointed, he has been taken out of games or maybe hasn't had the impact that he believes and he knows that he can have - but I say to him consistently, I know that the moments are coming.”
The two-goal lead ended up being critical down the stretch, as it gave New York City enough of a cushion to hold on for the win after Carranza scored for the Union early in the second half.
New York City protects lead late
After the Union pulled back a goal with 43 minutes remaining, New York City once again found itself in the position of having to hold on to a one-goal lead late in the match. Philadelphia continued to push throughout the half with a 12 to 7 shooting advantage - but only two of the Union’s 12 shots ended up on goal.
The Union actually found the back of the net again in second half stoppage time with a would-be equalizer from Jack Elliott that was quickly disallowed on an offside call.
Next Up
New York City has a short turnaround with the first Hudson River Derby against the New York Red Bulls at Citi Field in Queens on Saturday night. The Red Bulls also enter the derby on a two-match win streak after beating DC United 4-1 on the road tonight.
Live match commentary from Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence can be heard beginning at 7:15 P.M. at newyorkcityfc.com/radio and the Home Radio feature on Apple TV.