Late offensive push leads New York City to 5-1 win over San Jose Earthquakes

Courtesy: NYCFC

By Chris Tsakonas

BRONX, N.Y. - Four late goals in fifteen minutes made the difference for New York City in a 5-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes at Yankee Stadium tonight. After Hannes Wolf’s opening goal in the 50th minute was canceled out by a San Jose equalizer from Amahl Pellegrino three minutes later, Santi Rodriguez scored the matchwinner in the 80th minute and Alonso Martinez would net a hat trick with goals in the 85th minute, the second minute of stoppage time and the fifth minute of stoppage time.

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

Alonso Martinez, substitutes fuel late offensive explosion

After Santi Rodriguez gave New York City the 2-1 lead with a goal in the 80th minute, substitute Alonso Martinez took control of the match by scoring three goals in a 10-minute span. 

Martinez’s first goal came off of an assist from fellow substitute Maxi Moralez, who entered the match in the 74th minute to make his first appearance since going down with a torn ACL last season. 

Martinez scored his second goal seven minutes later after intercepting a wayward San Jose pass and finishing on the ensuing breakaway. Substitutes also played a role in Martinez’s third goal, as he finished a cross from Andres Perea that was set up by a through ball from Malachi Jones.

“What Alonso has done tonight is he gave himself more than half a chance of being in the team, right? If we can get the bench doing what they've done tonight, the team playing the way that they've been playing, the hardest part of my job is picking a team and again, tonight was difficult,” head coach Nick Cushing said after the match.

New York City dominate run of play

While four of the five goals didn’t come until the final minutes of the match, New York City was in full control for most of the 90 minutes. In addition to generating regular opportunities with a 20 to 12 advantage in total shots (seven to three in shots on goal), New York City also controlled 57.5 percent of the total possession in the win. 

The volume of shots translated into efficient opportunities for New York City, who had 2.6 expected goals - with nearly half of that value (1.26) coming during or after the 80th minute.

New York City push toward top of the table

With five straight wins, New York City is now in sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference with 29 points in 16 matches. New York City’s streak has been fueled by a prolific attack that has scored an average of 2.6 goals per match with a +8 goal differential. The stretch ties New York City’s club record for the longest win streak in club history.

The winning streak has put New York City within striking distance of the Supporters’ Shield, as the club is just five points behind league-leading Inter Miami heading into the break next week. New York City is four points behind Cincinnati for second place and three points ahead of the fourth-place New York Red Bulls.

“It's been a long time coming this, putting goals on the board, getting the fans cheering, getting the atmosphere up and delivering what our fans deserve, attacking football goals,” Cushing said. “I'm happy for the fans tonight because they've stuck with us. They've helped us a lot in tight games. They've sung us over the line. To really enjoy it, drink a cold beer, see three, four, five go in is important for our football club.” 

Next Up

New York City will be off next week before returning to Yankee Stadium on June 14 to host the Columbus Crew at 7:30 P.M. Live radio coverage will get underway at 7:15, with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence providing live commentary at newyorkcityfc.com/radio.