Martinez goal pushes New York City FC to 1-0 win over Philadelphia Union

Courtesy: New York City FC

By Chris Tsakonas

NEW YORK - New York City FC snapped a three-match winless streak with a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union tonight. Alonso Martinez scored the match-winner for New York City in the 55th minute.

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

Choppy start on a chilly night
On a night where the wind chill in Flushing was an unseasonably cold 33 degrees at kickoff, both teams struggled to turn their attacking motions into quality chances. New York City created the only shot on goal in the 12th minute, when a shot from Hannes Wolf from close range was saved by Union goalkeeper Andrew Rick.

New York City created six shots through the opening 45 minutes of play - but that only translated into 0.46 expected goals. It was tha eighth time in the last 10 matches where New York City went into halftime tied.

Martinez breaks through in second half
In the 55th minute, New York City finally broke the deadlock. It came on the counterattack, as Mitja Ilenic played a long ball over the top to find Martinez on the right side of the box. Andrew Rick overcommitted to try and break up the pass - leaving Martinez with an open net to slide in the matchwinner.

With the goal, New York City has scored four of its 10 goals in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

Martinez became the fourth player in New York City club history to score five times in his first seven matches of the season - joining Taty Castellanos, David Villa and Jesus Medina in that category.

New York City holds on defensively
An early Achilles heel for New York City this season has been keeping opponents off the scoresheet late in matches. Through the first seven matches of the 2025 season, New York City has conceded four goals at or after the 75th minute.

Despite a late onslaught from the Union, New York City was able to defend its 1-0 lead. The pivotal moment came in the 80th minute when a close-range header from Chris Donovan was denied by Matt Freese. Freese finished with three saves in the win.

Next Up
New York City heads back on the road to face the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium next Saturday night. Live radio coverage will get underway at 7:15 P.M. with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence on the call. The broadcast can be heard live at newyorkcityfc.com/radio.