Playing against the Philadelphia Union for the first time at Citi Field in front of a packed crowd at Citi Field, New York City FC got off to a great start, but at the end of the match fell by the score of 3-1 on Saturday Night.
Prior to the start of the match New York City FC entered the pitch at Citi Field and fans can check out the video below to check out that moment:
NYCFC got to a great start, as they had the majority of the ball possession and plenty of scoring opportunities.
The Boys in Blue got started off at the 7′ when Gabriel Pereira had a left footed shot that was saved by the Philadelphia Union keeper Andre Blake.
Philadelphia had their first attempt at the 9′ when Dániel Gazdag missed a right footed shot from outside the box. Then NYCFC turned the momentum around with a shot by Richard Ledezma.
Soccer fans are encouraged to check out the following photo gallery from the NYCFC match vs Philadelphia. Photos taken by: Stacy Podelski/1495Sports:
The next best attempt came at the 18′ mark for Philadelphia, when Kai Wagner shot with his right foot from outside the box, that was denied by NYCFC keeper Luis Barraza. At the 22′ Andres Jasson had himself a great header that just missed the cage as the team attacked the cage in front of an electric crowd.
Around the 25′ Leon Flach missed a right footed shot from the center of the box. After that a ton of back-and-forth action happened as both teams played a physical and exciting style of soccer.
It was around the 30′ mark that Pereira made his mark with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner for the 1-0 lead. That goal was assisted by Ledezma. Then in the 35′ Tayvon Gray tried to increase the team’s lead with a right footed shot.
Pereira has played well for the squad, as he has been able to score four goals in MLS this season. In addition, the forward attempted six shots against the Union, which is the highest total for a New York City player in MLS this season.
Fans of New York City FC are encouraged to check out the following video featuring thoughts from Head Coach Nick Cushing:
Another interesting stat came with the assist by Ledezma, as he has been able to set up his fourth goal this season, that makes him the Club’s assist leader.
The Philadelphia Union though, using their great speed and attacking ability found their first goal of the night, when Julián Carranza got a beauty of an assist by Jack Elliot to tie up the match.
Carranza struck again in extra time, getting a great feed from Mikael Uhre, he was able to blast the second goal of the night into the bottom left corner.
At the half, the Union were able to mainain their momentum and iced the game thanks to a penalty kick by Gazdag .
There were some good opportunities afterward, but ultimately it was the Union and their defense that stood tall and wound up the game with three points.
For NYCFC there are plenty of bright spots, as the team had a 59.3% possession %, 493 total passes in addition to a 85.2 passing accuracy %.
What is going to be even better is the fact that the team has a quick turnaround and a return to the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium, as the Boys in Blue host FC Cincinnati in MLS action on 5/31. The start of the match is set for 7:30 p.m.
For more information on New York City FC fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here: