Philadelphia Union Goals:
New York City FC Goals: Moralez 27'
Quick Read
New York City FC recorded an outstanding 1-0 win in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia Union. A tight game saw the visitors claim a first-half lead through Maxi Moralez in the 27th minute. Both sides battled to find further goals, but in the end, it was Moralez's strike that punched New York City's ticket into the Eastern Conference Final.
Match Recap
An Eastern Conference Semifinal was the stage for the meeting of New York City FC and the Philadelphia Union on Sunday evening.
The third playoff meeting between the two teams in five years, New York City was keen to record a memorable victory at Subaru Park.
Head Coach Pascal Jansen made several changes to the team that overcame Charlotte FC 3-1 last time out, with Andrés Perea and Alonso Martínez missing through injury, and Aiden O’Neill serving a suspension.
In their place came Jonny Shore, Raúl Gustavo, and Agustín Ojeda.
A tense and tight start to the contest saw Philadelphia’s relentless pressing test the composure of New York City in possession.
In the 15th minute, New York City turned the tables on their opponents when Maxi Moralez nicked the ball off Jakob Glesnes high up the field and passed inside to Nicolás Fernández Mercau—his strike taking a deflection and crashing against the post before bouncing back into play.
At the other end, Bruno Damiani fired off a low drive that Matt Freese failed to gather at the first attempt. Thankfully, he was able to pounce on the loose ball before it crept across the line.
The deadlock was eventually broken just before the half-hour mark thanks to a wonderful team goal capped off by Moralez.
The move began down the right with beautiful wing play from Ojeda, who drove inside and passed to Nicolás Fernández. He then slid the ball behind the defensive line to meet Moralez’s run—the diminutive Argentine side-footing the ball past Andre Blake for his fourth goal in four playoff games against the Union.
A corner for the Union then found Olwethu Makhanya free at the back post, but his header bounced safely into Freese’s hands.
Ojeda was proving a menacing presence out wide, and he went close to doubling New York City’s advantage with a shot from distance that drew a good save from Blake.
Tai Baribo was then handed a great chance to draw the Union level but missed the target.
Glesnes then had two looks at goal in quick succession just before halftime but was unable to beat Freese.
The first chance of the second half fell to the Union and Jovan Lukic, before Nicolás Fernández came within inches of producing a goal-of-the-season contender.
The talented playmaker picked up the loose ball from a Union corner and attempted an audacious curled effort from within his own half—Blake’s desperate attempt to claw it away proving successful at the last possible moment.
The hosts continued to push for an equalizer, forcing a sensational save from Matt Freese in the 75th minute after a deflected effort landed at the feet of Frankie Westfield at the back post.
He looked destined to score, only for Freese to produce a brilliant kick save to deny him.
Jansen turned to his bench for the first time in the 78th minute as he introduced Mitja Ilenič in place of Hannes Wolf.
Minutes later, New York City produced another great counter-attack when Ojeda and Nicolás Fernández combined down the left.
The latter squared it to Maxi Moralez, who tested substitute goalkeeper Andrew Rick with a stinging effort.
As the clock ticked toward the 90th minute, Westfield was once again found free at the back post but blazed his effort high and wide of the target.
Jansen’s second change of the evening saw Moralez make way for Strahinja Tanasijević. In stoppage time, Milan Iloski unleashed a dangerous effort from distance that Freese did brilliantly to tip around the post.
New York City’s final substitution of the night saw Julián Fernández replace Nico Fernández. The Union threw everything forward in search of an equalizer, but a dogged defensive display from New York City held firm.
That resilience proved enough to secure a famous 1-0 victory, punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final against Inter Miami CF next weekend.
Player of the Match
How We Lined Up
What's Next
Next up for New York City FC is an EAstern Conference Final showdown with Inter Miami CF on Saturday, November 29. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00PM ET.
