New York City FC recorded a big win against Orlando City SC on Friday night.
Goals from Santiago Rodríguez, Hannes Wolf, Agustín Ojeda, and Mounsef Bakrar handed City a 4-2 win.
Here are Five Points from the game...
Assistance
Tayvon Gray had himself quite the Friday night in the Bronx.
The defender notched two assists in City’s 4-2 victory and showed off his heart and skill in equal measure during both plays. His willingness to chase the ball down to the end line helped him rescue the ball and steer it into the path of Hannes Wolf.
His second assist saw him produce a smart low cross into the path of Agustín Ojeda to convert from close range.
That took Gray to four assists for the season – his best return in a City shirt. His emergence as a final third threat has been important for City of late, with the defender helping his team on both sides of the ball.
Get Well Soon Malachi
The unfortunate injury suffered by Malachi Jones was the only negative on an otherwise positive night for City.
The forward has slotted into the Club seamlessly since being selected in the MLS SuperDraft, and his absence from the field will be felt. The Club confirmed Monday he has undergone surgery and will now begin a period of rehabilitation.
Get well soon Malachi, you will be missed!
Nineteen
Not for the first time this season City produced a memorable team goal on Friday.
Hannes Wolf’s strike may have been the finishing touch, but it was a move built with nineteen passes. City have always been committed to playing exciting attacking football and the group’s cohesion is a major reason behind why they are able to produce goals of such high quality.
This one was the latest in a long line of great team goals, and the fact the team went on to win only made it even better.
From Downtown
Santiago Rodríguez broke the deadlock with a sensational strike on Friday from distance.
The Uruguayan forward is enjoying his best goalscoring season with City and that strike took him to eight goals in MLS in 2024. Coupled with his four assists he now has 12 goal involvements in 20 games, which is only a few shy of his best return back in 2022, which was 18.
Rodríguez’s ability as both a creator and scorer of goals is vital for CCity in the final third and on Friday it helped push City ahead at an important time in the game. He will now be hoping to break double figures for goals for the first time with City, and you would be unwise to bet against him doing just that.
Goal Getters
Since late March City have only failed to score in three MLS games.
Friday night saw them hit their second-highest tally of the season, with City now only three goals behind their 2023 total in the Regular Season.
City’s goal return has been boosted by the fact that ten different players have found the net for the Club in 2024, with every player challenged to contribute in the final third.
The team’s commitment to playing attacking football has helped them in the final third and that was typified by Mounsef Bakrar’s injury-time goal against Orlando.
This team has goals in them, and that should worry other teams in MLS.
