New York City FC defeated Seattle Sounders 3-0 at Yankee Stadium on Staten Island Borough Night.
Here’s Five Points from another winning night in the Boogie Down, presented by Etihad Airways…
Happy 4th
That’s five consecutive wins for the Boys in Blue in all competitions as NYC turned on the style in the second half to defeat the Western Conference's third-placed team, Seattle.
Building off a grandstand finish vs. the Conference leaders Philadelphia on Saturday, Dome Torrent’s men flew out of the blocks in the first half on Wednesday, with presentable chances for Alexandru Mitriță, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi and Taty Castellanos but a combination of Stefan Frei and some narrow misfires meant that the game was in the balance at the interval.
It took 12 second half minutes for Moralez to finally force the ball over the line, by sheer force of will seemingly, and from there NYCFC never looked back, adding two more through Jesus Medina and Eben Ofori before the night was through.
All in all, the perfect way to go into a Holiday, especially with another Bronx outing to come on Sunday vs. Portland…
“We Need Everybody”
Although the home team dominated, Seattle were able to lay a glove or 2 on NYC, forcing Brad Stuver into a couple of smart saves through the 90’.
That’s why Jesus Medina’s goal was so important, arriving at a crucial time in the match to give his team some breathing space, allowing them to keep possession and dictate the final 20 minutes (including eight minutes of stoppage-time).
Dome Torrent has emphasized on many occasions that he needs the entire squad to contribute if NYCFC are going to be successful under his stewardship and it’s a point he made again post-match on Wednesday.
Torrent told reporters: "They have to be ready. Don’t forget we have four games in ten days. I’m very happy with all of them. Medina is ready to play, and tonight he scores and he helps the team. I say many times, we need everybody to try to win something."
Back to Front
On Saturday, we saw a goal which involved all 11 NYCFC players, this time we were treated to another side of the team's offense: the counter-attack.
An incisive pitch-spanning move caught Seattle up the field and eventually presented Medina with the chance to tap in at the back post to double City’s lead after more combination play between Moralez and Castellanos.
Through this 14-match unbeaten streak, NYC have scored all kinds of goals and earned points in all types of matches, showing how multi-dimensional this squad has been through this excellent run of form.
Magic Maxi
Before the game, it emerged that Maxi’s direct involvement in nine goals inside two MLS matches was the most in a two-goal span since 2001,
Per MLS: “Over the past two matches for NYCFC – a 5-2 win against FC Cincinnati on June 6 and a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Union last weekend – Moralez has totaled eight combined goals and assists. That equals the most over a two-game stretch in MLS history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“Just one other player in MLS history has totaled eight combined goals and assists over a two-game stretch – Diego Serna, who had 5 goals and 3 assists over back-to-back games June 2-9, 2001, for the Miami Fusion.”
It was a remarkable effort from the Argentine and he was back at it again on Wednesday night, breaking the deadlock and taking the Man of the Match award on the back of another influential display.
Is there a player in the league in better form than Maxi right now? We're biased but, you know...
Ofori the City
We knew Eben had it in his locker from the opening day of the MLS season in Orlando but this was an even better strike from even further out.
Ofori announced his return from Africa in explosive style, starting off the fireworks early and sending a shockwave through Yankee Stadium with his 35-yard rip.
What a hit it was...
