New York City FC get three points in 2-0 win over CF Montreal
Courtesy: NYCFC
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City FC has won its first MLS match since the Leagues Cup break, defeating CF Montreal 2-0 at Yankee Stadium. Andres Jasson and Monsef Bakrar both found the back of the net for NYCFC in the win.
NYCFC dominated the first 10 minutes of the match, holding 72.1 percent of the possession while taking both shots. The best early chance came in the 10th minute, when Jasson sent in a cross from the right that was headed over the bar by Bakrar at the near post.
Montreal’s first shot came in the 19th minute, when a corner kick fell to Lassi Lappalainen at the edge of the penalty area. Lappalainen got off a dangerous shot from the corner of the area, but it rattled off the crossbar and out of play.
New York City got a good set piece opportunity in the 24th minute, with a 30 yard free kick on the left side of the penalty area. Braian Cufre stepped up to take it, and just missed the upper corner of the goal.
New York City’s first goal came in the 30th minute, as Jasson took the ball down the right side into the box and finished just inside the far left post to give NYCFC the lead.
“I'm really happy for him, because he's one of the guys that just deserves to get going,” head coach Nick Cushing said after the match.
Seven minutes later, New York City would double its advantage. Birk Risa would loft the ball 50 yards into the box, where Bakrar would get on the end of it and finish from a tight angle to make it 2-0 New York City.
"Ultimately, Monsef is going to score goals,” Cushing said. “I think we were disappointed when he missed his chances against Minnesota. I'm disappointed when he didn't put the first header in - but I also say to him, the best 9s, they just move on [from] missing chances and they put the next one in.”
Out of the halftime break, the run of play switched to CF Montreal. In the opening 20 minutes of the second half, Montreal would outshoot New York City 6-3 while holding 62.6 percent of the possession. Montreal’s best chance came in the 66th minute, when Mathieu Choiniere got off a powerful shot from outside the area that forced Matt Freese into a save.
On the other end, New York City nearly made it 3-0 in the 77th minute, when Keaton Parks set up a through ball in the box for Santi Rodriguez - who hit it into the side netting of the near right post.
It’s another short turnaround for NYCFC, who will now have to play the Vancouver Whitecaps in on Saturday afternoon. With 29 points in the league table, New York City have seven matches left in the regular season.
“Now we're in a headspace where we've just got to go and take it,” Cushing said. “We're gonna suffer a little bit like we did today in moments, and we're going to need everybody and we're going have to roll with the punches at times. All this does is give us an opportunity to [get] two wins back to back."