NYCFC Goals: Medina 3’, Moralez 65', Tajouri-Shradi 86’
Columbus Goals:
New York City FC continued their strong preseason campaign with a 3-0 victory against Columbus Crew SC in St Petersburg, Florida, on Wednesday night.
Ronny Deila’s men have been fast starters during their preseason games, and that trend continued against the Crew with a goal after just three minutes. Jesus Medina was the beneficiary, with the Paraguayan hammering home a cross by Andres Jasson from the left-hand side.
Buoyed by the goal, NYCFC kept a strong rhythm throughout the first period. In the 36th minute, a good combination led to Jasson firing a shot off that produced a corner.
In the 42nd minute, it was the turn of Taty Castellanos to get involved, with his shot going narrowly wide. The second half saw Deila introduce a handful of new faces, but those changes didn’t diminish the team’s momentum, with NYCFC maintaining their intensity as the second period started.
In the 50th minute, Maxi and Tinnerholm combined to produce a chance for Medina. Unfortunately, his effort went straight into the hands of the goalkeeper. Deila opted for a triple substitution in the 64th minute and handed new signing Chris Gloster his first taste of action.
Not long after that, the Boys in Blue found a second goal when Tony Rocha’s cross deflected to the feet of Moralez. The Argentine made no mistake and calmly slotted it home. There was even time for a third goal after some fine build-up play involving youngster Cooper Flax.
The teenager linked up with Gedion Zelalem, who in turn played it to Moralez. The veteran found teammate Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, and he unleashed a fine shot into the net.
The game ended with a convincing 3-0 result for NYCFC, who will now begin preparations for their next preseason fixture against Nashville SC on Saturday, March 28.
NYCFC XI: Barraza, Ibeagha, Sands, Latinovich, Gray (Tinnerholm), Thórarinsson (Gloster), Parks (Zelalem), Acevedo (Flax), Medina (Tajouri-Shradi), Jasson (Rocha), Castellanos (Moralez)
