Orlando City SC Goals: Griezmann 32', Ojeda 49'
New York City FC Goals: Martínez 18', Shore 90+10'
Quick Read
New York City FC earned a dramatic 2-2 draw on the road against Orlando City. Alonso Martínez opened the scoring in the 18th minute, but Antoine Griezmann equalized 14 minutes later. Martín Ojeda gave Orlando a 2-1 lead before Jonny Shore scored a brilliant equalizer deep into stoppage time.
Match Recap
New York City FC traveled to Florida on Saturday night to face Orlando City SC.
Head Coach Pascal Jansen looked to build on the 1-1 draw against LAFC in the Boys in Blue’s last outing. He made one change to the lineup, with Alonso Martínez replacing Luighi.
Orlando made a bright start, with Antoine Griezmann powering a header straight at Matt Freese. The goalkeeper gathered the ball at the second attempt.
NYCFC responded with two chances for Martínez, both created by pinpoint through balls from Tayvon Gray. Martínez tried to chip Maxime Crépeau with his first attempt, then forced a save from the Canadian international minutes later.
In the 14th minute, Martínez found space in a crowded box, but his shot was blocked by Orlando’s Iago.
The forward kept pressing, and his persistence paid off four minutes later when he broke the deadlock from close range.
The move began with Hannes Wolf, who exchanged passes with Nico Fernández Mercau before sending in a low cross. Crépeau could not hold it, and Martínez was there to tap home the loose ball.
Orlando looked for a quick response through Eduard Atuesta, but his long-range shot flew well wide.
NYCFC were forced into a first-half change in the 28th minute when Freese left the game with an injury. Tomás Romero replaced him in goal.
Romero was called into action soon after, making a comfortable save on Vinícius Nogueira’s powerful header.
There was little Romero could do in the 32nd minute, when Martín Ojeda crossed for Griezmann. The World Cup winner beat Romero to the ball and headed home to make it 1-1.
The aerial threat continued at both ends. NYCFC nearly regained the lead from a set piece when Fernández Mercau’s deep delivery found Thiago Martins. He could not make clean contact, but still forced a save from Crépeau.
NYCFC thought they had gone back in front in the 39th minute, but the offside flag denied Fernández Mercau. He had steered Kevin O’Toole’s cross into the net before the flag went up.
The teams went into halftime level. Early in the second half, Andrés Perea had a chance to put NYCFC ahead, but he could not direct his header on target.
That miss proved costly. Just two minutes later, Orlando took the lead through Ojeda.
NYCFC quickly went in search of an equalizer. Fernández Mercau broke forward and fed Martínez on the overlap, but the Costa Rican’s shot was turned away by Crépeau.
Fernández Mercau was involved again minutes later, playing a brilliant through ball to Wolf. Crépeau rushed out to deny the forward.
Jansen made a double substitution in the 71st minute, bringing on Jonny Shore and Talles Magno for Agustín Ojeda and Aiden O’Neill.
The changes gave NYCFC fresh energy, and in the 81st minute, Magno earned a penalty after Wilder Cartagena brought him down.
Magno took the spot kick after a lengthy delay but sent his attempt just wide of the post.
NYCFC made two more changes soon after, with Malachi Jones and Bénie Traoré replacing Martínez and Wolf.
Jones made an immediate impact, delivering a brilliant cross to Perea at the back post. Perea got a shot away, but Crépeau did well to turn it behind.
Midway through stoppage time, Magno came close to leveling the score after finding space at the back post, but Cartagena blocked his effort.
There was still time for late drama. Shore sent a low, driven shot into the side netting to make it 2-2, earning the Boys in Blue what could prove to be a vital point on the road.
How We Lined Up
What's Next
Next up for New York City FC is a game against Atlanta United on Wednesday, October 28. Kickoff is set for 7:30PM ET.
