New York City FC beat FC Cincinnati in penalty kick shootout to advance in MLS Cup Playoffs
Courtesy: New York City FC on X
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City FC is off to the Eastern Conference Semifinals after beating FC Cincinnati 6-5 on penalties following a 0-0 regulation draw. Mitja Ilenic scored the decisive penalty in the ninth round of penalties, while Matt Freese made three saves in the shootout to send New York City through.
Cincinnati controlled first-half run of play
While New York City held most of the possession through the opening 10 minutes of the first half, Cincinnati controlled most of the run of play and created frequent scoring chances as the half progressed.
Luca Orellano was a focal point of Cincinnati’s attack in the first half, with three of Cincinnati’s nine shots in the first 45 minutes. Orellano’s best chance of the half came in the 31st minute when he got on the end of a close-range shot from the edge of the six-yard box that New York City goalkeeper Matt Freese saved.
At the halftime break, Cincinnati had outshot New York City by a 9-3 margin while holding 55.4 percent of the possession.
New York City struggles to create scoring chances
On the other end, New York City wasn’t able to consistently generate opportunities in the final third. New York City didn’t generate any shots until the 23rd minute when a long-range effort from Alonso Martinez was blocked by a defender. Only two more shots would follow before the halftime break, as Keaton Parks missed a header off of a corner in the 24th minute and Kevin O’Toole had a shot blocked in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.
The second half was more of the same, as New York City didn’t record another shot until Mitja Ilenic missed on a long-range effort in the 66th minute.
New York City appeared to have taken a 1-0 lead in the 81st minute when Martinez got on the end of a through ball and beat Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano one-on-one - but Martinez was immediately flagged as being offside.
Key moments allow New York City to advance on penalties
New York City entered tonight’s playoff match with a strong penalty kick shootout record, having won two of three penalty shootouts during its Leagues Cup quarterfinals run in the summer.
The first three rounds were uneventful, as Rodriguez, Mounsef Bakrar and Keaton Parks all scored their penalties to keep pace with Cincinnati at 3-3. Freese made his first save of the night against Pavel Bucha in the fourth round to give New York City the advantage, but the would-be winning penalty from Thiago Martins was stopped by Celentano.
Freese made a second stop on Gerardo Valenzuela in the seventh round - only for Kevin O’Toole to be denied by Celentano again on the following shot before Chidozie Awaziem and Andres Perea both missed in the eighth round.
Teenage Hadebe stepped up to the spot for Cincinnati in the ninth round - and Freese denied him for his third save of the shootout.
“Matt Freese, every time we missed [on penalties], he just showed the ambition and the hunger to save another one tonight,” head coach Nick Cushing said after the match. “That is just a great example of a guy that is a real high contributor to a team.”
Ilenic was the next man up for New York City, and he fired the ball into the top right corner to secure the shootout win.
“We are all confident and all super happy. I think everybody in that dressing room deserves this,” Ilenic said. “The club deserves this. [I'm] super happy about this and it's not [the] end.”
Next Up
New York City FC is through to the second round, which will be a home match against the New York Red Bulls in the first-ever playoff edition of the Hudson River Derby. New York City swept the regular season series with a 2-1 win at home in May and a 5-1 win on the road in September.
The date, time and venue are still to be announced, but live radio commentary will be provided by Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence at newyorkcityfc.com/radio and the Apple TV Home Radio feature.