FOXBOROUGH, Mass. | New York City FC’s three-match road win streak came to an end with a 1-0 loss to New England in front of 28,811 on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
Lee Nguyen’s goal in the 12th minute proved to be the difference as the Club lost for just the second time in eight matches.
New York City FC fall to 5-9-6 (21 points), while the Revolution improve to 7-9-6 (27 points) after snapping a five-match losing streak.
Defender Jeremy Hall feed the ball to Diego Fagundez in New York City FC territory. After a give-and-go with Daigo Kobayashi, Fagundez slipped a through ball to Nguyen down the left side. The midfielder cut inside onto his right foot and fired a low shot into the far corner for his third goal of the season.
Things went from bad to worse for New York City FC as midfielder Ned Grabavoy was shown a straight red card for his tackle on Kobayashi in the 55th minute.
"I’m really, really pleased with the guys’ efforts," head coach Jason Kreis said. "They gave everything they had, they stuck together and gave us a chance at the end. To be down a man as long as we were and to have a chance there at the end, I think that’s meaningful."
Added midfielder Andrew Jacobson: "We never gave up, we kept working. From the first minute we put in the effort. We have to keep improving tactically. We have to keep going forward."
New York City FC came out the stronger side, especially in the early going. The Club had three quality opportunities in the match’s first 10 minutes. In the second minute, David Villa’s back heel went to an overlapping Tommy McNamara down the left sideline. McNamara chipped the ball into the box, but Patrick Mullins’ header was claimed by New England goalie Brad Knighton.
One minute later, New York City FC threatened again; this time from a corner kick. Villa’s short corner to Grabavoy was played back to the captain, who laid the ball off to Angelino, who was making his first professional start, but his shot from outside of the box was deflected agonizingly wide of the far post.
In the 10th minute, the 18-year-old Angelino played a tantalizing ball over the top to a streaking Mullins, but a pair of Revolution defenders put enough pressure on the forward, who cued his shot wide of the net.
Two minutes later, it was New England that made the breakthrough against the run of play.
The score remained 1-0 in favor of the home side at halftime.
New York City FC started the second half with solid chances and not surprisingly, Villa was involved. Villa, who was named to the 2015 Major League Soccer All-Star Gameday roster earlier in the day, served a free kick into the box from the left wing in the 46th minute, but Knighton punched away the danger.
Four minutes later, Villa was at it again. Following a New England corner, McNamara played a great outlet pass to the forward, who then flew down the left wing. Villa beat a defender and his cross was pushed away again by Knighton.
New England looked dangerous on a counter down the right side in the 54th minute. The ball eventually came across to Chris Tierney in the middle, who volleyed a left-footed effort that was palmed over the middle of the goal by Josh Saunders.
In the 70th minute, the Revolution quickly went from defense to offense, with a 4-on-3 counter. Charlie Davies got the ball to the left, but was forced inside by Jason Hernandez, who was making his first start since June 28, and his attempt went off the crossbar.
New York City FC had chances in stoppage time to share the spoils. Defender Chris Wingert’s attempt from outside of the area was saved by Knighton as the Revolution hung on for their first win since June 13.
"Everything was going really well until the first chance they had to score," Kreis said. "On their goal, New England had quite a few passes and switched the ball on us twice and that's not something we typically like to happen. After that you’re chasing the game. In the second half you're down a man, down a goal and you're going to take risks, so that means you’re going to have some breakaways and crazy things coming your way.
"In the end I’m still pleased with the guys’ effort and I think that’s the biggest point we need to make this week. The guys worked really really hard and showed they’re together."
New York City FC return to action on Sunday, July 26 against fellow expansion side Orlando City SC. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. ET from Yankee Stadium. The match will be broadcast nationally on FOX Sports 1.
