By Chris Tsakonas
NEW YORK – New York City FC suffered its first loss of the season as Inter Miami came away with the 3-2 win at Yankee Stadium this afternoon.
Here are three observations from New York City’s defeat.
Miami pressure leads to poor start for New York City
From the opening whistle, Miami had the upper hand with a persistent high press that limited New York City’s ability to build out of the back.
In the third minute, it turned into a goal. Off a corner kick from the right side, the ball bounced out to the top of the box for Telasco Segovia. The shot was blocked, but it fell to Gonzalo Lujan to the right side for the first-time finish.
It was part of a dominant opening 15-minute stretch for Inter Miami, who had four of the first five shots of the match with 60 percent of the possession.
Pigeons strike twice against the run of play
After the opening 15 minutes, Miami eased up on the press and New York City began to create chances in the final third.
Two minutes later, that led to a set piece equalizer. Nico Fernandez Mercau stepped up to take a free kick from the left edge of the penalty area, and he bounced it off the crossbar and into the back of the net.
Miami continued to dominate the run of play – out-shooting the Pigeons by a 15 to 4 margin in the first half – but it was New York City who ended up scoring the next goal. In the 59th minute, Maxi Moralez played a through ball to spring Ojeda into the box, and he beat Dayne St. Clair to put New York City ahead 2-1.
Free kick miscue proves costly
New York City’s lead would last only two minutes. In the 61st minute, Messi stepped up to take a free kick from about 30 yards out. It was redirected off Fernandez Mercau and into the back of the net to bring Inter Miami level.
Things went from bad to worse in the 74th minute. Noah Allen whipped in a cross from the left flank that was headed in from a sharp angle at the back post by Micael for the match winner.
Next Up
New York City FC will close out this four-match home stand on Saturday, April 4 against St. Louis City SC at Citi Field. Live commentary with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence will get underway at 7:15 p.m. at newyorkcityfc.com/radio or the Apple TV Home Radio feature.
