Late equalizer costs New York City FC in 2-2 road draw against Inter Miami

Courtesy: New York City FC

By Chris Tsakonas

Despite playing with a man advantage for 67 minutes, New York City FC conceded a late equalizer to finish with a 2-2 road draw against Inter Miami in Fort Lauderdale tonight. The equalizer came from Telasco Segovia in the 10th minute of second half stoppage time.

“Just a little too short. That sums it up,” head coach Pascal Jansen said after the match. “That sums it all up - just a little too short. But on the other hand, in an away game starting against Miami, it's always a challenge, and I think my boys took on the challenge with a brave heart, and they were very courageous.”

Here are three observations from New York City’s first match of the season.

Miami breaks through early
The first blow of the match came from Inter Miami - and it didn’t take long. In the 5th minute, a short corner kick set up a through ball to Lionel Messi at the edge of the six-yard box. Messi squared it back for Tomas Aviles, who found the back of the net to put Miami up 1-0.

Miami continued to control the run of play early on, outshooting New York City by a 3-0 margin with 63 percent of the possession through the opening 20 minutes.

“We conceded a sloppy goal from a corner kick against [us], so we were chasing the game,” Jansen said.

Aviles red card flips the script
New York City would catch a major break in the 23rd minute when Alonso Martinez was brought down at the edge of the penalty area by Aviles. Aviles was sent off for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, giving New York City the man advantage.
New York City capitalized immediately, as Max Moralez played the ensuing free kick towards Mitja Ilenic, who found the back of the net to make it 1-1 in the 26th minute.

“The free kick was a good example of a player like Maxi, who can read the play and has the instinct to see where the areas are, so we can be very dangerous,” Jansen said. “The free kick that he took was absolutely world-class because everybody was expecting a ball to go top corner, but he took it and Mitja was there to finish it.”

New York City would take advantage of another Miami defensive mistake in the 55th minute. Jordi Alba turned the ball over on the left side, which left Martinez through on goal on the right side of the box. Martinez finished inside the left post, putting New York City in the driver’s seat in the second half.

Miami’s late push pays off
While New York City spent most of the match up a man, Miami controlled the run of play in a late push for a second goal, outshooting New York City by an 8 to 5 margin while holding 57 percent of the ball in the second half.

That push ultimately paid off in the 10th minute of second half stoppage time. Messi led the attack to the edge of the penalty area, where he played a through ball down the right side of the box to set up the tying goal for Segovia. The goal was Miami’s last shot of the match - and it cost New York City two points.

Next Up
New York City heads back on the road next Saturday to take on Los Angeles FC. LAFC opened  the season with a 1-0 home win over Minnesota United to kick off the MLS season earlier today.

Live radio commentary will get underway at 10:15 PM ET, with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence on the call from Los Angeles.