Pair of early goals cost New York City FC in 2-0 loss to CF Montreal on Decision Day

Courtesy: New York City FC

By Chris Tsakonas

New York City will head into the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs without home field advantage after falling 2-0 to CF Montreal at Stade Saputo tonight.

Both of Montreal’s goals came in the first half, as Caden Clark opened the scoring in the 18th minute while Josef Martinez doubled the lead in the first minute of first half stoppage time.

Quick Montreal attacks cost New York City despite strong start
Both of the goals New York City conceded in the first half came against the run of play. On the opening goal, Bryce Duke played a ball into the ball that ultimately skipped past Martinez to set up the finish from Clark at the back post. 

Clark was the facilitator on Montreal’s second goal, as he took the ball down the left flank before playing it across the middle to set up Martinez for his 11th goal of the season on the counter attack.

“I think the timing of the second goal really kills the game,” head coach Nick Cushing said after the match. “I think at 1-0 down coming out [in the] second half, we know we’re going to have a lot of the ball. We know we can really get after the game. [I’m] disappointed in the two goals.”

Montreal’s two goals came against the run of play, as New York City regularly created chances while controlling the possession battle: through the first 45 minutes, New York City outshot Montreal by a 10-4 margin while holding 58.2 percent of the ball. 

Montreal bunker keeps New York City attack at bay
Coming into Decision Day, Montreal needed either a win or a draw against New York City to secure a spot in the play-in round. Once Clark scored the go-ahead goal in the 18th minute, Montreal shifted into a more defensive shape to secure that result.

That bunker proved to be a challenge for New York City’s attack. After creating two shots on goal inside the opening 16 minutes, New York City would only have one more shot on goal for the rest of the match. Much of that also came down to finishing, as New York City missed the target on 12 of 15 shots tonight.

“We created some chances tonight. We didn’t take them,” Cushing said. “I think the second goal killed us just before halftime.”

Road to MLS Cup begins in Cincinnati
With all of the Eastern Conference Decision Day matchups now finished, New York City knows its playoff positioning. As the sixth seed in the East, New York City will open the playoffs with a first round best-of-three matchup against FC Cincinnati.

Cincinnati is a familiar opponent for New York City, as they’ve already met three times across all competitions this season. Cincinnati won the first two meetings at TQL Stadium (1-0 in the regular season and 4-2 in the Leagues Cup group stage) before New York City came away with the 3-1 win at Red Bull Arena on Oct. 2.

“We’ve had some top games against [Cincinnati] - [we were] disappointed to lose 1-0 earlier in the season. We played really well for 75 minutes in the Leagues Cup and then lost it and then beat them in our home stand,” Cushing said. We’re confident that we can put performances in, and we’re pleased we’re in the postseason.

Next Up
While we know New York City will open the postseason with a series against FC Cincinnati, the league hasn’t officially announced the date and kickoff time for the next match. New York City’s home venue for the series is also up in the air, as both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets are still in the MLB playoffs.

All of New York City’s postgame matches will be broadcast live at newyorkcityfc.com/radio, with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence on the call. The radio broadcast for home matches can also be heard with the Apple TV home radio feature on MLS Season Pass.