3 things we learned from NYCFC's crazy win against Orlando City SC | OneFootball

The midweek game against Orlando City SC can best be described as dull, poor, lackluster, insane, unbelievable, and absolutely crazy.  New York City FC was not expected to leave with three points as the match progressed.  However, the Pigeons somehow found a way to earn a 2-1 comeback win over the Lions.

For most of the 90 minutes played, the Boys in Blue struggled immensely.  They were lackluster in the attack, especially in the first half.  They improved in the second half, but struggled to secure the clinical finish that was missing against Charlotte FC.  Once Orlando scored their goal in the 36th minute, it really felt like the night would end with another road loss.

However, in the 87th minute, Orlando scored an own goal thanks to Kyle Smith to level the game.  Then, in the first minute of stoppage time, Alonso Martínez became the hero to score the winning goal.  A missed tackle and room in front of him enabled the ability for the Costa Rican to take the shot and secure a second road win of 2025.

This might have been the craziest and most unbelievable ending of the season.  So, let’s take a look at three things we learned from NYCFC’s win against Orlando.

Strahinja Tanasijević is still a liability

Despite Tayvon Gray being available, Pascal Jansen opted to start Strahinja Tanasijević as the right-back.  Mitja Ilenič was unavailable for the match with no concrete reason given, so not starting Gray was a little shocking.  Then, Tanasijević is known for being unreliable.

Unfortunately, the Serbian lived up to his name and added to the poor play in the first half.  Too often, he was outrun, and players went around him.  Notably, he is a natural center-back, which influenced his play.  But he should have been better defensively, and he is arguably the reason why Robin Jansson scored for Orlando.

Tanasijević failed to clear the ball, and Jansson was in the right spot in front of the NYCFC players to kick the ball into the goal.  But that ball was also falling right to the Serbian.  Tanasijević should have made contact or at least impeded the goal-scoring chance.

Then, he later received a yellow card for a foul he had to make, but it should never have gotten to that point.  He gave away the ball before committing the foul and clearly put the Lions in another scoring chance.  Thankfully, nobody else scored after the initial goal.  But Jansen needs to consider keeping him on the bench, for Tanasijević is too much of a liability.

Expect the unexpected with NYCFC

At this rate, especially with the inconsistency with the season, fans should always expect the unexpected.  Sometimes they will lose games they should win and win games they are expected to draw or lose.  In some games, they will compete and play well with the very best, while in others, they will struggle immensely.

In the case against Orlando, NYCFC played poorly and were lackluster in the attack during the first 45 minutes.  They improved in the second, but were still lacking the clinical finish.  Plus, they were still not playing well enough.

So, when the goals occurred beginning in the 87th minute, and NYCFC eventually won the match, well, the shock of it all still lingers.  This is a team that struggles on the road.  Having a comeback win is beyond what anyone can comprehend about the team.  Plus, they won in Orlando for the first time since 2018.  Fans of the two teams are used to seeing the matches end in draws at Inter & Co Stadium, so this was a lovely surprise, at least for NYCFC fans.

Nevertheless, as the game went on, the Pigeons winning did not seem like a probable outcome.  But the beautiful game is never set in stone, and anything can happen until the final whistle blows for full time.

Alonso Martínez needed that goal

The last time Martínez scored for NYCFC was in the May win over Chicago Fire FC.  Yes, he missed the June matches due to the CONCACAF Gold Cup.  Still, he is supposed to be the Pigeons’ consistent scorer, and went goalless in the last four games that he played.

That is why it is vital that he scored last night.  To make things sweeter, he scored the winning goal in stoppage time.  Ideally, the moment should act as a confidence booster for him to score more goals on the road, which is needed with two more games in the road trip.