New York City FC suffered their first defeat of the season against LAFC on Saturday. A tight game saw both sides reduced to few clear-cut chances. That changed in the 86th minute when Ryan Hollingshead gave LAFC the lead. That goal was enough for the hosts to emerge 1-0 winners on the night.
LAFC 1 NYCFC 0
Report by NYCFC.com
New York City FC spent Saturday night on the West Coast, facing LAFC at BMO Stadium.
Pascal Jansen’s side entered the match fresh off a 2-2 draw with Inter Miami CF and were eager to secure a positive result.
Jansen made two changes to the starting lineup from last week, with Tayvon Gray and Mounsef Bakrar replacing Mitja Ilenič and Agustín Ojeda.
First Half
Unfortunately for Gray, his night was cut short after an early injury forced him off, with Ilenič stepping in after just eight minutes.
Despite the early setback, City started brightly. Alonso Martínez tried his luck with a long-range strike that skipped just wide of Hugo Lloris’ post.
At the other end, Denis Bouanga remained a constant threat on the counter for LAFC. A surging run just before the 20-minute mark required a combined defensive effort from Keaton Parks and Strahinja Tanasijević to halt the danger.
The hosts grew into the game as the half progressed but struggled to turn their momentum into clear-cut chances by the half-hour mark.
In the 32nd minute, a well-worked passage of play down City’s right ended with Justin Haak firing a shot from distance, though his effort failed to hit the target.
City’s momentum continued to build, and soon after, a low cross from Ilenič nearly deflected past Hugo Lloris.
Jansen’s side finished the half on the front foot and were able to limit LAFC to zero shots on target during the opening 45 minutes.
Second Half
The second half started at a fast pace, with both sides creating early opportunities.
For City, a sweeping counterattack saw Martínez nearly open the scoring, before Hannes Wolf came close minutes later after Haak’s well-placed pass found him in space. The Austrian drove toward goal but couldn’t find the accuracy to trouble Lloris.
City made a pair of substitutions in the 60th minute, with Maxi Moralez and Bakrar making way for Andrés Perea and Ojeda.
Bouanga was desperate to break the deadlock and tested Freese with a vicious drive from a narrow angle that forced City’s goalkeeper to palm the ball away from danger.
Ilenič, fresh off a goal in the last match, came close again after a corner was cleared to him on the edge of the area. The Slovenian’s dipping half-volley was on target, but did not trouble Lloris.
City’s final changes of the night saw Julián Fernández and captain Thiago Martins enter in place of Wolf and Tanasijević.
Despite enjoying the better of the second half, City fell behind in the 86th minute after Bouanga’s cross was cleared into the path of Ryan Hollingshead to score.
A foul on Haak late on gave City a chance to swing in a freekick. Fernández produced a dangerous delivery, but none of his teammates were able to get a meaningful touch on the ball.
City continued to press for an equalizer until the final whistle but were unable to find one, meaning they suffered a first defeat of the season.
