New York City FC Wins Season Finale, Misses Postseason for First Time Since 2015
Courtesy: NYCFC on X
By Eddie Kalegi
On an evening where New York City FC needed three results in their favor to keep their season alive, only one went their way. City walked away with a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire, courtesy of a Julian Fernandez second half goal, to close the season in a positive way. However, victories for Charlotte FC and the New York Red Bulls ensured the end of the 2023 campaign for the 2021 MLS Cup champions.
Robbie Robinson’s 84th minute equalizer for Inter Miami Wednesday night allowed the boys in blue to enter “Decision Day” with a mathematical shot at a postseason berth, having competed for the MLS Cup in every season since 2015. City needed a victory, as well as points for Lionel Messi and Miami and a Nashville SC win over the rival Red Bulls to qualify for the playoffs. The visiting Fire similarly entered play with a fighter’s chance, needing a victory and either a loss by the Red Bulls or CF Montreal to punch their ticket to the postseason in their easiest clinching scenario.
Nick Cushing made a trio of notable decisions for the Starting Eleven for the most important match of the season. He kept the combination of Talles Magno and Monsef Bakrar, both of whom have played at striker this season. Keaton Parks returned to the lineup on the backline in favor of Andres Perea in the midfield. Meanwhile, the youthful Julian Fernandez was on the pitch for the opening whistle, replacing Andres Jasson, who had started the last three matches.
Both clubs brought the energy from the onset, but it was the hosts who set the tone at Citi Field. Santi Rodriguez had a pair of prime chances in the first five minutes alone, with the latter being punched out of harm’s way by Chicago’s Chris Brady.
City held the Fire shotless for the first ten minutes, but a slow rotation by the defense gave Fabian Herbers a scoring opportunity in the 15th minute, which was saved by a diving Matt Freese.
New York City mustered a few more attacks over the next several minutes, with their best look coming on a run from Fernandez, who led Santi Rodriguez just a bit too far towards the left post.
Besides a couple of failed clearances by the Fire, New York City FC didn’t do much else in a very physical and defensively controlled rest of the first half, while Chicago couldn’t mount anything against City’s backline, sending both clubs to the locker room scoreless.
After an extended halftime to allow all Eastern Conference action to simultaneously begin second half play, New York City looked to build off of a frame that saw them collect ten shots. It was the Chicago Fire who looked more poised offensively to begin the period, launching three shots in the first seven minutes, all of which missed the mark.
Nick Cushing made a pair of substitutions about an hour into the match, sending Andres Perea and Mitja Ilenic onto the pitch. He opted to keep Julian Fernandez in the match, which paid off in a major way. On a breakaway, Fernandez slammed a left-footed strike from distance past Chris Brady to give New York City FC the lead in the 64th minute. Santi Rodriguez had the assist, as the 19 year-old Argentinian delivered his second tally of the season, and possibly the most important goal of the 2023 season, in just his second career start for the club.
At this point, City’s goal was simple: protect the lead and hope for other results to go their way. The veteran Kei Kamara had two prime looks late on headers, but the 39 year-old misfired on both. NYCFC’s defense held firm, and City closed out their ninth win of the 2023 campaign.
Unfortunately for the boys in blue, the rest of the results did not go their way. Inter Miami fell short against Charlotte FC, the club’s first loss with Lionel Messi as an active player, while John Tolkin’s heroics lifted the rival Red Bulls into the playoffs with a 1-0 win at Nashville.
The story was simple for New York City FC this season. Despite lights out defense and stellar goalkeeping from Sean Johnson’s replacement Matt Freese all season long, injuries and offensive ineptitude are why City fell short of postseason soccer in 2023. The striker debate that spanned all summer long, paired with several holes to fill on the attack from the 2022 roster made it a challenging season, and it seems that this team still hasn’t fully turned the page since Taty Castellanos’ departure last July. The 2021 MLS Cup title now seems like a distant memory, and City will be looking for answers to come back stronger in 2024.