After a week when New York City FC celebrated the past, they were certainly happy. History was not repeated during his home opener with Orlando SC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
In honor of the club's 10th anniversary and their first match, City faced Orlando on the same day they went in 2015.
The outcome was different as NYCFC forward Hannes Wolf won 2-1 in the 71st minute.
The victory was in the NYCFC's first year after falling to LAFC last week in the season-opening match against Intermiami. Star striker Alonso Martinez also scored, with goalkeeper Matt Freeze making two saves.
“We are extremely pleased that we did well today to score our first three points,” NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen said.
Wolf's skilled goal – his first goal since July was to have Orlando Keeper Pedro Garase made his first stop on a deep shot from Martinez but was unable to hold the ball, then a pass from Julien Fernandez who collected loose balls.
The strike came just two minutes after Orlando's Louis Muriel deflated the home's crowd with equal goals.
“It's very important, because it didn't seem like we were trying to admit it. Janssen said when asked about the team's response: “And better than dealing like that will come back to move our goal forward again. It was tough for our peers because if you went back to the previous two games, we would have admitted a slow goal in Miami and sacrificed victory, and in LA it cost the game.
“So going back to what we did in this game shows that we have characters and we're ready to compete until the last seconds of the game.”
After a surge in chances on both sides of the early part of the opening half, both sides were cooler before the NYCFC put pressure on them in the second half. Martinez and Fernandez each had a chance in the 50th minute, and in the 59th minute, Martinez finally defeated a scoreless draw.
Midfielder Maxi Morales fired a shot from the outside of the box that hit the post, while Martinez cleaned up the loose ball for City's first night goal.
NYCFC defender Kevin O'Toole was sent off 87 minutes after his second yellow card. City was forced to play the rest of the way with 10 players.
In the home opener, we saw 17-year-old Jonathan Shore launching his first MLS start for the NYCFC.
Before the game, the NYCFC celebrated their 10th anniversary with the welcome back legend Andrea Pirlo along with team alumni Kwadowopok, Tony Rocha and RJ Allen at a match at Yankee Stadium.
Pirlo cheered on the news of Queens' new stadium, opening in 2027, explaining why it is “very important” to the club's efforts to recruit top talent from around the world.
“If you want to come here, you have to have the players – the right structure, the right sports centre,” Pirlo said through an interpreter. “So if you want European players to come here, that's very important.”
