Keaton Parks header helps New York City to 1-0 win over New England Revolution

Courtesy: NYCFC

By Chris Tsakonas

New York City FC has now won seven of the last eigh matches after defeating the New England Revolution 1-0 at Gillette Stadium tonight. Keaton Parks scored the only goal of the match for New York City in the 81st minute.

Here are three observations from New York City’s latest win.

Keaton Parks wins it late
While New England controlled much of the run of play, New York City were able to come away with the three points regardless thanks to late heroics from Keaton Parks. The goal came off of an assist from Tayvon Gray, who curled the ball towards Parks with a long cross from the right flank. 

The goal is Parks’ second of the season, as he scored the equalizer in New York City’s 2-1 win over Charlotte FC at Yankee Stadium on April 27. Gray has now assisted two match-winners in the last two matches for New York City after setting up Mounsef Bakrar’s go-ahead goal against the New York Red Bulls last Saturday.

“[Parks runs in the box. Tavon puts a great ball - and that's two assists in two [games] for Tayvon, and he's told me 100 times already in the dressing room. Like I say, it's a real good example of the growth of our team,” head coach Nick Cushing said after the match. “I'll say it again: I want our team to adopt an attacking mentality and if they can go and find a moment to win a game instead of taking a tie, it tells me that we're moving forward.”

New York City withstand New England pressure
Despite coming away with the three points, New York City spent long stretches of the match on the back foot. The Revolution finished with a 17-14 advantage in total shots with an 8-4 edge in shots on goal and 57.7 percent of the possession.

The highest-percentage shot of the match came in the 25th minute, when Dylan Borrero sent in a cross to set up a header from Xavier Arreaga that narrowly missed the post.

While New England struggled to finish at times with eight of 17 shots ending up on target, New York City goalkeeper Matt Freese had to come up with seven saves to preserve the clean sheet and the three points - including a particularly difficult diving stop on a header from Giacomo Vrioni that nearly opened the scoring for New England in the 46th minute.

New York City pushing closer to top of Eastern Conference
The win cements New York City’s hold on third place in the Eastern Conference with 26 points in 15 matches. New York City is now seven points out from first-place Cincinnati, who has 33 points in the live standings at the time of publication. 21 of New York City’s 26 points have come in the last eight matches after starting the year with just five points in the first seven matches.

Tonight’s win is also New York City’s third straight on the road after beating Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union last week. That stretch contrasts with a 2023 season where New York City finished the year with just one road win in 17 matches.

“Tough times make strong teams, and we're better now for that,” Cushing said. “In those moments it's painful, in those moments it is frustrating and in those moments you have to take the criticism. We did a lot of work reviewing last year, we did a lot of work looking forward, we did a lot of work through preseason knowing that a good away record will solidify league position. The players have shown real leadership and a real understanding of how to grind out results on the road.”

Next Up
New York City FC will return to the Bronx next Friday night for a home match against the San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose entered this week as the last-place team in the Western Conference with 10 points in 14 matches and a -11 goal differential.

Live radio coverage will begin at 7:15 P.M. at newyorkcityfc.com/radio, with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence providing the commentary from Yankee Stadium.