New York City FC bounce back with 2-0 Leagues Cup win over Leon
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City FC bounced back in the second match of Leagues Cup action with a 2-0 win over Leon. Alonso Martinez opened the scoring for New York City, with Agustin Ojeda also scoring in the win.
Here are three thoughts on the match tonight.
New York City strike early
It only took seven minutes for New York City to take the lead. Off a corner kick from the left flag, Maxi Moralez delivered a cross to the near post that Justin Haak nodded on to the back post. Martinez finished off the header from Haak to put New York City up 1-0 early.
It was a stark contrast from Tuesday night’s Leagues Cup opener against Puebla, where New York City fell behind inside the opening two minutes and never recovered in a 3-0 loss.
Ojeda breaks through
In the 32nd minute, New York City doubled its lead. Martinez collected the ball on the right side of the box with only one defender and the goalkeeper to beat. Martinez played the ball across the face of goal to find Ojeda, who found the back of the net to make it a 2-0 match.
The goal snapped a 13-month scoring drought for Ojeda, who last scored in a 4-2 win over Orlando City SC on June 28, 2024.
“I’m very happy for him as an individual because he’s looking for these moments,” Jansen said. “We’re trying to get him into certain positions and in a certain awareness where he can have more impact on the team - because he has special qualities as well, but his output is way too low. That is also some weight on his shoulders, but he’s working so hard day in and day out to improve this.”
Freese comes up big late
With a 2-0 lead in the second half, New York City began to weather a late Leon push to get back into the match. Leon’s first big chance of the match didn’t come until the 56th minute, when Ismael Diaz found himself one-on-one on the left side of the box - only for Freese to come up with the near-post save.
Two minutes later, Leon would catch a break after New York City conceded a penalty kick. James Rodriguez stepped up to take the penalty, only to be denied again by Freese.
“Matt’s save was huge, because that could have given them the momentum back in order to fight themselves into the game, and Matt denied it,” Jansen said.
Matt Freese finished with four saves in the win.
Next Up
New York City FC will return to the five boroughs next Tuesday for the Leagues Cup group stage finale against Toluca at Yankee Stadium.
New York City will likely need at least a shootout win to finish in the top four in the MLS tournament table to advance to the knockout stage of the competition. Live radio commentary with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence will get underway at 7:15 p.m. at newyorkcityfc.com/radio.