A comeback in the second half sees NYCFC beat Chicago Fire FC | OneFootball

On Memorial Day weekend, New York City FC played a rare Sunday afternoon match at Yankee Stadium. The Pigeons welcomed Chicago Fire FC, a team they shared the points with in both matchups in 2024. This time, NYCFC won 3-1 to earn a comeback win.

It was a nice day for a game and many people did not have work or school the next day.  In some ways, it was a little surprising that more fans were not there in person. Still, it was a decent crowd for a Sunday and the fans were urging the team on for most of the game.

Meanwhile, NYCFC hoped to pick up where they left off against the New York Red Bulls.  The Pigeons finally scored more than one goal in last week’s Hudson River Derby, beating the red side 2-0.  It would have been ideal for them to beat another red side and score multiple goals in the process.

It was not pretty, but NYCFC scored three goals.  The Bronx team should have scored more, but there were too many missed opportunities throughout the 90 minutes of play.  The 3-1 result was an acceptable one, but one cannot help but analyze the issues the team had, especially since they played two-thirds of the game a player up.

NYCFC beats the Fire 3-1

The match began with NYCFC dominating play and quickly threatening in the attack.  Some of the shots were a little lackluster, but at least it did not take long for them to register a shot on target.

They had a great chance from Alonso Martínez in the 17th minute.  The Costa Rican only had the goalkeeper, Chris Brady, in front of him and made a great run into the box.  Unfortunately, he could not capitalize on his chance, and that immediately came back to haunt NYCFC two minutes later.

Chicago’s Philip Zinckernagel caught the defense off guard.  As such, he struck the ball hard, finding the space to put it past the defenders and Matt Freese from outside the box.

To make matters worse, Martínez had the perfect opportunity to level the score when Brady dropped the ball in front of him in the 23rd minute.  However, the forward sent the ball wide and over the bar.  Then, he had the perfect shot in the 24th, but his shot hit the crossbar.  Julián Fernández subsequently could not capitalize on the rebound, for his shot was blocked.

Yet, the Boys in Blue were given a little bit of life.  The Fire’s Brian Gutiérrez received a red card in the 31st for a flagrant foul on Aiden O’Neill, putting his arm into his face.  So, NYCFC played a man up for the rest of the way.

As a result, the home team continued to attack, but lacked the ability to put the ball past Brady.  They were offensively the better team, but Chicago maintained the lead as the teams headed into the locker room.

To make things interesting, Pascal Jansen made some intriguing changes at halftime.  Mitja Ilenič came on for Tayvon Gray, who was on a yellow card.  However, he was probably one of the best players on the pitch.  Still, Ilenič does add more to the offense on the right side when he plays.  But then, Mounsef Bakrar came on for Jonathan Shore.  This was a mind-boggling change since Shore is a midfielder and Bakrar is a striker who has struggled.

Yet, to the surprise of everyone, Bakrar was the one who scored the tying goal.  Justin Haak sent the ball right in front of the net, and the often criticized striker tapped the ball into the goal in the 58th minute. This was a much-needed goal for the Algerian, who last scored in August 2024.

Then, in the 69th, Birk Risa had a superb strike from way outside the box that forced the Chicago keeper to dive to his left to make the save.  But something was new about NYCFC.  They had a newfound energy, and by the grace of the beautiful game, the Pigeons took the lead in the 70th.

It started with a counterattack, which Maxi Moralez drove the ball up the pitch.  Eventually, the ball fell to Hannes Wolf, who maneuvered himself in the box to create space.  With a low curl, the winger sent the ball home and put the stronger offensive team up 2-1.

Afterward, the Fire had their own wind of energy.  They had a period where they were attacking NYCFC like they had an extra player.  But the defense held on, and eventually substitute Agustín Ojeda had a counterattack into the Chicago box.  He should have taken his shot sooner, but failed to do so, and was eventually fouled in the box.  It was a little controversial since it did not look like Ojeda was fouled.  Yet VAR confirmed it, and Chicago was also down another player due to Dje D’Avilla’s second yellow card.

So, Martínez stepped up and took the penalty kick, powering the ball past Brady and giving NYCFC a 3-1 lead.

While the call was controversial, the Pigeons still would have won regardless.  It was shaky for a while, but thankfully, the Boys in Blue scored multiple goals and earned three points at Yankee Stadium, ending the losing streak at their main home.