NEW YORK CITY FC defeat CF Montreal 2-0
CITI FIELD, NEW YORK (Wed, July 3, 2024) — The City took on CF Montréal at Citi Field with Victory earnings 3pounts back-to-back wins on home soil after Friday’s 4-2 success against Orlando City SC, with Montréal also coming into the game fresh off a 4-2 win of their own against the Philadelphia Union.
Head Coach Nick Cushing made one change to Friday’s starting XI, with the injured Malachi Jones replaced by Maxi Moralez. The Boys in Blue started the brighter of the two teams and were rewarded with the lead in the 9th minute through Alonso Martínez.
The move was started after Hannes Wolf pounced on a loose pass deep in Montréal’s half and played a first-time through ball to Martínez. The Costa Rican took one touch to settle the ball before smashing it into the back of the net.
At the other end, Matt Freese was called into action in the 19th minute after Montréal’s Kwadwo Opoku found space on the left-hand side of the box. The forward was able to get a shot away but was denied by a brilliant starfish save from Freese.
City would be forced into a first-half change after Moralez unfortunately pulled up with an injury in the 22nd minute. Waiting in the wings to step in for him was fellow countryman Agustín Ojeda.
Montréal appeared to be focusing their attacks down City’s left during the first half, which almost paid off for them in the 33rd minute after an overload down that flank culminated with the ball being pulled back to Josef Martínez, but his effort lacked the bend required to trouble Freese.
In response, a delightful through ball by Keaton Parks to Martínez orchestrated a 3v2 opportunity for New York City, with Martínez spraying the ball wide to the onrushing Ojeda. Unfortunately, the tricky winger appeared to lose his balance and saw an attempted pass across the box skew behind for a goal kick.
With the first half almost over Martínez was handed the perfect opportunity to double his tally for the evening after Rodríguez played him through on goal – the Costa Rican’s strike flashing just past the post, much to his frustration.
The second period saw one change for City as Strahinja Tanasijević replaced Birk Risa at the back.
City started the second half in the ascendancy, and in the 53rd minute, a beautiful team move involving Parks, Tayvon Gray, and Wolf, finished with the Austrian pulling the ball back to Martínez in the box. The forward was able to connect with the ball but could not put his effort on target.
Martínez would not be denied minutes later, however, as he and Wolf combined once again to double City’s lead – the Austrian’s delightful dinked pass in behind allowing Martínez to volley the ball home in style.
Two almost became three two minutes later when Parks slid a precise pass to Ojeda that put him through 1-on-1. The forward did well to open his body and try to curl it around the goalkeeper but was denied by a good save.
Wolf was eager to add his name to the scoresheet and came close in the 68th minute after a dazzling 30-yard run took him into the penalty area. The forward was able to get off a shot from close range but saw goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois save his effort.
City’s defensive resolve was still being tested at the other end – forcing Tanasijevic into an inch-perfect tackle to deny Opoku a certain goal. In the 72nd minute, Cushing turned to his bench to introduce Andrés Perea and Julián Fernández in place of Parks and Wolf.
The hosts were eager to score a third before the night was over and Kevin O’Toole came close in the 76th minute after a corner made its way to him on the edge of the box. The defender’s rising drive with his right foot looked destined for the net before a fingertip save from Sirois.
Cushing would make a further change in the 88th minute as Mounsef Bakrar replaced Martínez. That would be the final act of note on the night and confirmed a 2-0 victory for City against CF Montréal.
Wednesday, New York City FC recorded a 2-0 win against CF Montréal in Queens. City took a 9th-minute lead through Costa Rican forward Alonso Martínez. They would double that advantage in the 56th minute with Martinez second goal of the evening.
Forward Alonso Martínez added to his goal tally this season with a brace, bringing his season total to eight. Martínez is now tied with Midfielder Santiago Rodríguez for most goals this season for New York City FC.
New York City FC has scored five goals in the first 15 minutes of the first half, with only Montréal (6) having scored more in that time in league play.
After today’s 2-0 victory, New York City FC now has four clean sheets on the season.
New York has a record of 9-2-1 (W-L-D) when scoring the opening goal in regular season play this season.
The record shifts to 6-2-1 (W-L-D) when scoring the opener at home specifically.
New York has a record of 5-2-1 (W-L-D) when leading at half-time this season.
New York City FC has been dominant in regular season play against Montréal, with the ‘Boys in Blue’ holding a record of 12-2-5 (W-L-D) against the Canadian side.
New York City has scored 33 goals in the 19 matches played between the two sides, compared to CF Montréal who have scored 13 goals.
At home, New York City has only lost once to CF Montréal and has an overall record of 7-1-3 (W-L-D), scoring 22 goals and conceding eight.
New York City is on a nine-game unbeaten run at home against ‘CFM,’ with the last loss to the fellow Eastern Conference side at home coming on August 1, 2015, in a 3-2 loss at Yankee Stadium. Of those nine unbeaten matches, NYC has recorded five consecutive wins.
This evening was the first time that New York City FC hosted CF Montréal at Citi Field, with nine previous home matches played at Yankee Stadium and the other being played at Red Bull Arena.
PLAYER MILESTONES
With goals scored in the ninth and 56th minute, Forward Alonso Martínez has goal contributions in two consecutive matches (1A v. Orlando, 2G v. Montréal).
As a starter, Martínez has six goal contributions (4G, 2A).
This is Martínez’s second game where he has scored two or more goals, with the other being on Matchday 18 against the San Jose Earthquakes where he recorded a hat trick.
Contributing two assists in the ninth and 56th minute, Forward Hannes Wolf now has goal contributions in two consecutive matches (1G, 2A).
Sands has contributed assists in back-to-back matches, with a second assist in tonight’s match against Montréal and an assist against Orlando in the previous match.
Up Next: New York City FC jets over to face Western Conference side Austin FC on Saturday
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
NEW YORK CITY FC HEAD COACH NICK CUSHING
On what to take from the last two performances…
“You guys watch us week in, week out, and you can see when we’re good, you can feel when we’re good because it’s entertaining. It’s good to watch goal chances. My frustration tonight is for you guys and the fans. We should put three, four, five [goals] up, that’s a real New York performance. We missed too many chances tonight, but if we keep the expected goals at 2.1, 2.5, or 2,7, we’ll win football games… This comes down to all the guys having that real collective idea of how we attack the games. We do it, but as a young team, you’ve got to keep drilling it, you’ve got to keep being consistent and keep focusing on playing with that real ambition and that real intensity and aggression that we play with. We saw it in Toronto, we’ve seen it in Philadelphia. We didn’t see it in Nashville and LA. Now with Austin, we have a huge opportunity to play the performance that we know gives us a chance to win.”
On having a clean sheet against Montréal tonight…
“It’s critical [to have a clean sheet]. When you have a goalkeeper like Matt Freese who performed at a really high level, he deserves clean sheets. When we give sloppy goals away and cheap goals like the one at Nashville [FC], LA [Galaxy], the Orlando [City SC] goals, they frustrate me, because we pride ourselves on our defensive solidity, such as last year, [when we had] a really good defensive record. For us, it’s about even when we’re up 2-0, 3-0, it’s retaining that hunger, that desire, and that standard to make sure that we get clean sheets, because goal difference may come into it at some point. [I am] really pleased tonight to get clean sheets and not give a lot away in goal chances. It has to be outstanding, and we have to continue that.”
On Thiago Martins All-Star selection…
“Thiago Martins is fully deserving. You can see a guy that’s really grown into the leadership position he’s in. You can see a guy that embraces the responsibility and the demand that we put on him. He’s been one of our most consistent performers this year. He’s great with the ball and really solid defensively.”
NEW YORK CITY FC FORWARD ALONSO MARTÍNEZ
On playing as a striker…
“I feel good playing as a nine, and I’m just taking advantage of the opportunity that Coach [Nick Cushing] is giving me.”
Sobre jugar como delantero…
“Me siento bien jugando como delantero, y estoy approachable la oportunidad que el entendre [Nick Cushing] me está dando.”
On his style of play as a number nine…
“I really like getting behind the defenders. I think the speed that I have is my strong suit, and that allows me to score many goals.”
Sobre su estilo de juego…
“Me gusta mucho ganar las espaldas de los defensores. Creo que esa es mi virtud, la velocidad que tengo, y eso me permits hacer muchos goles.”
On adding to his assist total and working with Alonso Martínez…
“[Working] with Alonso [Martínez] is great. Not only tonight; he’s doing a lot of work and is a great striker for us. [He is] giving us a lot of good runs into space and can set the ball very well. [I am] very happy for him.”
On his strong form and the team chemistry…
“The chemistry is very good. You can see [when] we search [for] each other, and we know what the other player will do [and] where they want to run. It’s getting better with every game, and we try to continue that. The whole team feels good. We are start to get more and more confidence right now, myself and all other players. As I said, it’s important to make assists [and] to score goals and we try to continue like this.”
NEW YORK CITY FC GOALKEEPER MATT FREESE
Becoming more comfortable using both feet under pressure…
“I came here, I knew how to kick a long ball, and that was about it. It’s something I’d never learned. I grew up as a field player, so for a few years, I lost that [ability] because I stopped doing that. After a few months of working with [Coach] Rob Vartughian, Nick [Cushing], the rest of the goalkeepers, the rest of the team…Thiago [Martins], James [Sands], and Keaton [Parks] are always helping me and instilling confidence in me and supporting me. Running through extra reps with me after training every day. It’s got me up to speed, and my goal is to be the distributor and the leader when we’re in possession on the back because I can see everything. I am the quarterback when we have the ball because I can see everything in a way that no one else can on the field, just based on my position. There’s still work to be done for sure, but the team and the coaching staff allowed me to have the time to develop that and keep working on it.”
What he said to the team at halftime…
“We had a tough halftime. We didn’t perform well in the first half. We were up 1-0, but we should have been up by a lot more. We weren’t keeping the ball and putting pressure on our defensive end because we were not keeping the ball… When we got on the field, my focus was just to bring everyone together and just preach togetherness. Those are the moments. What I said was, these are the ones you must win; we need three points today. We want to be a top team. There’s just no question that we need to win this game today. That’s what I was saying [to the team]. We must stick together and believe in each other.”
