New York City FC earned their first road win of the season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Toronto FC. Alonso Martínez won and scored the decisive penalty in the second half, while a strong defensive effort helped City preserve a clean sheet.
Toronto FC 0 New York City FC 1
Report by NYCFC.com
New York City FC were on their travels Saturday as they took on Toronto FC at BMO Field.
City were looking to bounce back from defeat in their last outing against New England Revolution, while Toronto were eager to make it back-to-back wins after beating Real Salt Lake.
Head Coach Pascal Jansen made two changes to the team that took on the Revs, as Keaton Parks and Tayvon Gray replaced Mounsef Bakrar and Mitja Ilenič.
First Half
The hosts created the first chance of the afternoon after three minutes—Charlie Sharp heading over from close range.
City responded with a header of their own seven minutes later through Keaton Parks, but he also struggled to keep the effort on target.
Next it would be Alonso Martínez that tested Toronto’s goal, with a shot in the 17th minute that Sean Johnson saved.
Sharp was Toronto’s main attacking outlet early on, and the 25th minute saw him get a shot off that missed the target.
As the clock ticked past the half-hour mark Federico Bernardeschi became a more central figure, firing off two shots that were blocked by a combination of Justin Haak and Jonathan Shore.
City were eager to go in a goal up, and Hannes Wolf had a great chance to give City the lead when he found a dangerous pocket of space just inside the area. His shot was deflected behind for a corner.
Second Half
The second half saw both teams renew their attempts to find an opener, as City came close in the 54th minute through Wolf—his effort blocked by Kosi Thompson.
In response, TFC defender Kevin Long headed an effort toward goal that required an intervention from Justin Haak to keep the scores level.
City were then handed a perfect chance to break the deadlock in the 64th minute after Martínez earned a penalty. He dusted himself down and confidently dispatched the strike past Sean Johnson.
Jansen opted to make two changes in the wake of the goal as Julián Fernández and Nico Cavallo replaced Kevin O’Toole and Agustín Ojeda.
Toronto were by no means out of things, however, as Matt Freese was called into action after a dangerous freekick from the left missed everybody and skipped up in front of City’s shot-stopper, who grabbed it at the second attempt.
Fernández then raced down the other end and fired off a venomous drive that whistled past the near post.
City’s second set of changes came in the 78th minute as Maxi Moralez and Shore were replaced by Birk Risa and Andrés Perea.
A fast break from City minutes later saw them work the ball forward before Fernández found Wolf from close range—his shot well-blocked by Johnson.
Toronto’s pursuit of an equalizer saw Matty Longstaff clip in a dangerous cross in injury time that required Gray to clear it behind for a corner.
City’s final change of the afternoon saw Mounsef Bakrar replace Martínez, but not before the Costa Rican sprang the offside trap and attempted to round Johnson—Toronto’s shot-stopper able to get a glove on the ball and dispossess him.
In the end, Martínez’s penalty proved the difference and was enough to secure a first road win of the campaign for City.
Next Game For NYCFC
The ‘Boys in Blue’ return home to Citi Field to face FC Cincinnati on Sunday, May 4, at 3:00pm ET. | Apple TV: MLS Season Pass | Radio (English/Spanish) newyorkcityfc.com/radio
