New York City FC Goals: Wolf 51'Â
St. Louis CITY SC Goals:Â
Quick Read
New York City FC recorded a 1-1 draw against St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday night at Citi Field. Despite controlling much of the game, the hosts had to wait until the second half for the breakthrough. Hannes Wolf provided it in the 51st minute, finishing calmly to put City ahead. A stoppage time leveller from Brendan McSorley forced the two teams to settle for a point.
Match Recap
New York City FC were in the World’s Borough on Saturday night as they hosted St. Louis CITY SC.
The visitors came into the game fresh off their first win of the campaign, while New York City were keen to get back to winning ways after a narrow loss to Inter Miami CF last time out.
Head coach Pascal Jansen named an unchanged side from the one that faced Miami, and that almost produced an early chance for Keaton Parks.
The midfielder latched onto a bouncing ball inside the area and unleashed a ferocious volley that flew just over the crossbar.
That was followed by several half-chances for New York City before Nicolás Fernández Mercau had the ball in the net with a composed finish, but the offside flag denied him a sixth goal of the season.
In response, St. Louis came close with an opening of their own, but Marcel Hartel was unable to make clean contact with a cross toward the near post. Simon Becher attempted a follow-up effort, but his shot was blocked.
Fernández Mercau then tested Roman Bürki from range with a rasping strike that required a strong save from the Swiss shot-stopper.
St. Louis began to grow into the game and, in the 26th minute, Hartel forced a smart save from Matt Freese down to his right, pushing the ball around the post for a corner.
That was followed minutes later by an ambitious effort from Sergio Córdova that went high and wide.
New York City continued to push as halftime approached but could not break through, sending the two sides into the break scoreless.
The hosts looked to change that after the restart, and a fast start delivered the breakthrough in the 51st minute through Hannes Wolf.
The Austrian forward picked up the ball deep inside the St. Louis half and, after exchanging passes with Maxi Moralez, calmly rolled the ball beyond Bürki.
It was almost two in the 63rd minute after AgustÃn Ojeda made a brilliant run in behind down the right, but his low shot from a narrow angle was turned behind by Bürki.
St. Louis were handed a real opening minutes later when Hartel found space in the final third, but his effort from the left-hand side of the box flew wide of Freese’s goal.
Jansen turned to his bench in the 75th minute, introducing Jonny Shore and Raúl Gustavo in place of Parks and Tayvon Gray.
The visitors continued to push for an equalizer, which forced Thiago Martins into diligent defensive work in the 78th minute, blocking an effort from Becher.
A similar intervention was required nine minutes later when Cedric Teuchert found space inside the area, only for Martins to once again step in and block the attempt.
Jansen made his second double substitution in the 88th minute as Talles Magno and Nico Cavallo replaced Aiden O’Neill and Ojeda.
New York City pushed for a second and nearly found it in spectacular fashion when Fernández Mercau attempted an audacious lob from distance, only to see his effort drift just wide.
St. Louis then had a golden opportunity to equalize in stoppage time. A deep free kick fell to Polvara, but he blazed his volley over from 12 yards out.
The closing stages turned chaotic. Fernández Mercau broke through one-on-one but was denied by Bürki, a miss that proved costly.
Deep into stoppage time, Brendan McSorley rose to head home and level the match, earning St. Louis a 1-1 draw.
How We Lined Up
What's Next
Next up for New York City FC is a meeting with Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, April 11. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30PM ET.
