New York City FC (NYCFC) was greeted with a smattering of boos after conceding twice in second-half stoppage time as FC Cincinnati came from two goals down to snatch a 4-4 draw in a thrilling encounter at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night.
Pascal Jansen’s side appeared to be cruising to victory when Talles Magno made it 4-2 with 11 minutes remaining, but a late collapse means that NYCFC is now five MLS games without a win.
Cincinnati substitute Andrei Chirila produced a stunning long-range strike on 92 minutes to set up a nervy finish before Evander equalized from the spot deep into stoppage time after Kevin O’Toole clumsily fouled the Cincinnati captain in the area.
Nicolás Fernández Mercau, influential throughout, gave the hosts the lead midway through the first half after pouncing on a goalkeeping howler from Roman Celentano. Fernández Mercau then coolly finished past the Cincinnati ‘keeper to restore the lead later in the half after Kévin Denkey had briefly leveled the tie.
Second-half goals from Agustín Ojeda and Talles Magno either side of a Denkey effort appeared to have sealed victory for the hosts before that late collapse.
NYCFC has now collected two points from their their last five games, but this result will likely hurt more the most, with Jansen’s side in control for large parts.
The hosts routinely exploited the cavernous space behind the Cincinnati defense to create chances but were frequently caught cold at the other end, with Cincinnati taking advantage of some truly slack marking for all four goals.
Jansen blasted his side’s failure to maintain control of the game as it drifted toward its conclusion, signaling out a lack of structure that allowed Chirila time to line up a shot from outside the area.
“We are completely out of shape in this moment,” Jansen said after the game. “We’re not structured well enough. It takes too long, it’s too casual, and you get punished.”
He also bemoaned slack marking that allowed Cincinnati to stay in the game when NYCFC was on top in the first half, including the defending for both of Denkey’s goals.
“It’s impossible, especially for a team with our qualities and knowing that we are perfectly capable of dealing with these type of situations,” Jansen said.
Jansen’s side started much the brighter and should have hit the front on 13 minutes when Agustín Ojeda raced in behind the Cincinnati defense and pulled back for Wolf at the penalty spot. The Austrian winger’s first-time effort was too close to Celentano, however, who got down well to save.
The Cincinnati ‘keeper went from hero to zero seven minutes later when he spilled a routine Aiden O’Neill cross back into the danger zone, with Fernández Mercau pouncing to tap home from close range and give the hosts a deserved lead.
NYCFC continued to probe, with Ojeda frequently getting in behind Cincinnati defense. The Argentine, however, often lacked convinction when bearing down on goal.
Jansen’s side would be made to pay for failing to take advantage of their early dominance. Just as they did against Charlotte at Citi Field on Saturday, NYCFC conceded the first shot on target that they faced, with Denkey coolly volleying home at the back post on 32 minutes after being left in acres of space in the penalty area.
The Cincinnati striker did well to divert Ender Echenique’s cross beyond the despairing dive of Matt Freese, but it is a goal that the NYCFC defense will not want to see again, with the hosts completely vacanting the right-hand side of the penalty area.
NYCFC almost instantly made amends when Fernández Mercau latched onto a delightful round-the-corner pass from Maxi Moralez to race through on goal on 35 minutes. The in-form forward showed plenty of conviction in front of goal to fire a right-footed shot beyond Celentano, who could not keep the effort out despite getting a toe to the ball.
The hosts could have extended their lead two minutes later when Moralez found Ojeda unmarked at the back post with a low cross. Ojeda, however, could only blaze into the side netting from a tight angle with Celentano beaten.
NYCFC, with Fernández Mercau pulling the strings, continued to probe after the restart and should have extended their lead on 47 minutes when the Argentine maestro split the Cincinnati defense to send Ojeda one-on-one with Celentano, who made himself big to keep out the goalbound effort.
Ojeda made no mistake six minutes later when he once again exploited the space behind the away defense to race through on goal once more. He made no mistake this time, finishing beyond Celentano despite a touch from the Cincinnati ‘keeper.
The visitors looked to have pulled one back almost immediately when Evander curled a spectacular effort beyond Freese from outside the area. VAR, however, sent referee Sergii Boiko to the screen after Evander appeared to foul Tayvon Gray in the build-up and the goal was ruled out – to the delight of the modest Yankee Stadium crowd.
Cincinnati did find a route back into the contest on 65 minutes when Denkey brought down an Evander freekick and produced an instinctive finish past Freese. The Cincinnati striker was once again afforded far too much space in the NYCFC penalty area in the build-up to the goal.
Jansen said his side’s inability to keep Cincinnati at bay created an “anxiety” among his team.
But Magno, on as a second-half substitute, settled the nerves for the hosts with 11 minutes left on the clock, trapping a pass from Ojeda before bending a delightful shot past Celentano with almost no backlift to restore the two-goal cushion.
Substitute Keaton Parks missed a glorious opportunity to make it 5-2 moments later when he was found in space by Fernández Mercau, but his effort lacked power to trouble Celentano.
Parks – and NYCFC – was made to pay for that miss.
The game appeared to be drifting to an inevitable conclusion before Chirila smacked a 25-yard effort beyond Freese to set up a grandstand finish.
O’Toole then brought down Evander to hand the visitor’s a golden opportunity to salvage an unlikely point. Evander made no mistake, sending Freese the wrong way to snatch a draw as a chorus of boos greeted the Boys in Blue at the full-time whistle.
