After a week of New York City FC celebrating the past, they were surely happy one piece of history didn’t repeat itself during their home opener Saturday against Orlando SC at Yankee Stadium.
In an homage to the club’s 10-year anniversary and their first game, City faced Orlando on the same date they did back in 2015.
This time, the result was different, as NYCFC forward Hannes Wolf scored in the 71st minute to propel City to a 2-1 win.
The victory was NYCFC’s first of the year after playing to a draw in their season opener against Inter Miami and falling to LAFC last week. Star striker Alonso Martinez also scored and goalkeeper Matt Freese made two saves.
“We’re very happy that it worked out today to get first three points,” NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen said.
Wolf’s skillful goal — his first since July — came on a header off a pass from Julián Fernández, who collected the loose ball after Orlando keeper Pedro Gallese made an initial stop on a deep shot from Martinez but couldn’t hold onto the ball.
The strike came a mere two minutes after Orlando’s Luis Muriel had deflated the home crowd with an equalizing goal.
“Very important, because it didn’t look like we were going to concede. Once we did, you needed to respond immediately,” Jansen said when asked about the team’s response. “And what better than to respond in that way, getting a goal back to be ahead again. It was tough for our guys because if you go back to the previous two games, where we conceded late goals in Miami and cost us the win and in LA it cost us the game.
“So getting back the way we did in this game shows that we have character and we’re ready to compete until the final second of the game”
After a flurry of chances for both sides in the early portion of the opening half, both sides went cold before NYCFC started to put on the pressure in the second half. Martinez and Fernández each had chances in the 50th minute, and in the 59th minute Martinez finally broke the scoreless draw.
Midfielder Maxi Moralez fired a shot from outside the box that hit off the post and Martinez sprinted in to clean up the loose ball for City’s first goal of the night.
NYCFC defender Kevin O’Toole was sent off in the 87th minute after a second yellow card. City was forced to play the rest of the way with 10 players.
The home opener also saw 17-year-old Jonathan Shore make his first MLS start for NYCFC.
Prior to the match, NYCFC celebrated their 10th anniversary by welcoming back legend Andrea Pirlo, along with team alumni Kwadwo Poku, Tony Rocha and R.J. Allen for the match at Yankee Stadium.
Pirlo cheered the news of the new stadium in Queens, which opens in 2027, and explained why it was “very important” for the club’s efforts to recruit top talent from around the globe.
“If you want to have champions coming here — players — you have to have the right structure, the right sports center,” Pirlo said through an interpreter. “So that’s a very important thing to do if you want European players to come here.”
