Tag: Héber

NYCFC put on counter-attacking clinic, bounce CF Montreal from MLS playoffs

NYCFC were ruthless in transition as they ended Montréal’s season

NYCFC has serious designs on extending their reign as MLS’s top dog for another season.

The defending champions went to Quebec and dismantled CF Montréal 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. Maxi Moralez, Héber, and Talles Magno all scored as the 2021 MLS Cup winners combined mastery in transition moments with some excellent goalkeeping from Sean Johnson (at least, in the first half) to advance to the Eastern Conference final.

Throughout 2022 Montréal earned a reputation as the experts at drawing teams towards over-committing before catching them out. In their biggest game of the year though, NYCFC taught them a lesson, time and again manufacturing transition moments by forcing turnovers just as Montréal committed too many men forward.

Nick Cushing altered his side’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, bringing an extra center back in, but that didn’t hamper their razor-sharp attack. An energetic start resulted in an early goal for NYCFC, with Moralez calmly depositing the ball into an empty net after Gabriel Pereira and Santiago Rodríguez had done most of the heavy lifting.

From that moment through to the last seconds of the half, it was all Montréal. Sean Johnson produced two jaw-dropping saves, Kei Kamara hit the post, referee Drew Fischer turned down a penalty shout from Djordje Mihailovic, and the home side would also have a goal on a clever set piece called back for offside. NYCFC would enter the locker room with more yellow cards (three) than shot attempts (two).

That second shot ended up being critical though, as a jailbreak counter saw NYCFC take a 2-0 lead. Montréal’s fast recovery appeared to have ended the danger, but Rodríguez played a marvelous ball to Héber, whose run went completely undetected. The pass was so good that all the Brazilian veteran had to do was casually tuck the ball past James Pantemis, stunning Stade Saputo.

Wilfried Nancy brought Rommel Quioto on to push for a comeback, but another incisive NYCFC counter ended with Pantemis tripping Pereira in the box. Fischer awarded the obvious penalty, and Talles Magno — with virtually his first touch after coming on — finished it off from the spot.

Montréal would at least salvage some pride with a late goal from Mihailovic — a routine header that Johnson was inexplicably unable to fend off — and gave NYCFC some worries in the final minutes, but ultimately the cutting edge shown by New York City made them worthy winners.

NYCFC will head south on I-95 to take on the Philadelphia Union in a rematch of last year’s conference final, which is set for October 30.

Watch the goals that sent NYCFC past Montréal

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NYCFC takes 2022 Campeones Cup with 2-0 win over Atlas

MLS is on a hot streak against Liga MX

After years of tough results, MLS keeps on racking up wins against Liga MX in 2022.

In a match between the defending champions from each league, NYCFC won the very important and definitely not confusing 2022 Campeones Cup 2-0 over Atlas. Alexander Callens struck early for for MLS champs, and Maxi Moralez padded the lead four minutes into the second half.

Between actual competition and informal (but lucrative) meetings cooked up between the two leagues, MLS is on something of a roll. The MLS all-stars beat Liga MX 2-1 earlier this year, one day after also winning the skills competition. MLS also won one of two Leagues Cup Showcase matches, with the LA Galaxy beating Chivas 2-0. Only Club América could keep any Liga MX pride intact, and even that took a penalty kick success after a scoreless draw with LAFC.

Oh, and of course, the Seattle Sounders won the CONCACAF Champions League back in May, posting a 5-2 aggregate win over Pumas UNAM to end an MLS drought in the competition (and its predecessor, the Champions Cup) that ran back to 2000.

Callens put NYCFC into the lead in the fourth minute, finishing off a set piece that worked to perfection. Gabriel Pereira’s free kick from what constitutes long range in the tiny confines of Yankee Stadium found Nicolás Acevedo free at the near post, and the Uruguayan midfielder headed the ball over Atlas goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, leaving Callens the job of smashing the ball home from two yards out.

If there was some mild controversy over that goal—Atlas appealed for offside, with some imperfect replay angles appearing to show Acevedo and Callens just barely on—there could be no complaints about the second.

Talles Magno and Santiago Rodríguez combined brilliantly through the midfield to open Atlas up, and the veteran Moralez provided a precision finish that just barely fit through a window where neither Vargas nor midfielder Jeremy Márquez could intervene.

Despite a wide-open game that produced 37 total shot attempts, NYCFC held on for the shutout, becoming the second straight MLS team to win the Campeones Cup. The Columbus Crew beat Cruz Azul in 2021, also by a 2-0 scoreline.

On one hand, for NYCFC, any kind of win is good news. A side that at one point this year lost just once in 17 league matches has, since July 30, gone 1W-2D-7L. That includes home losses to expansion strugglers Charlotte FC and D.C. United, who will probably “win” this year’s Wooden Spoon.

On the other hand, striker Héber—more or less the club’s only natural striker after 2021 Golden Boot winner Taty Castellanos moved to Girona in the summer transfer window—left what is still just a showcase friendly in the 29th minute due to injury.

While NYCFC’s early-season success has made it nearly impossible for them to fall out of the playoff places, losing Héber (who, in positive news, was well enough to make it out for the trophy lift) or failing to turn a win over Atlas into genuine momentum over the final three games of the season will be signs that they’re destined for a quick postseason exit.

Watch NYCFC’s Campeones Cup goals

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NYCFC, FC Cincinnati with some MLS Madness in 4-4 draw

No words for this game, but we tried our best

One of the wildest games in years in MLS took place Wednesday night, as NYCFC and FC Cincinnati played to a bonkers 4-4 draw.

FC Cincinnati stormed out to a 3-0 lead, with Lucho Acosta opening the scoring in the 15th minute before Brenner—who just scored his first league goal of 2022 on the weekend—bagged a brace in a six-minute span, striking in the 24th and 30th minutes, and that second goal was something special.

 

As fans at TQL Stadium partied, NYCFC saw things get even worse, with Maxi Moralez saw his penalty kick saved by Roman Celentano.

However, incredibly, this disaster for the MLS Cup champs was flipped on its head in a wild seven-minute span, as the teams went to the locker room level. Talles Magno scored a 45th minute goal, and then Héber somehow managed to score two more goals in first-half stoppage time to equalize.

NYCFC didn’t let the halftime break end the madness, with Gabriel Pereira waltzing through the Cincinnati midfield before unleashing a 52nd minute rocket. A game that was 3-0 Cincy in the 44th minute was now 4-3 NYCFC.

Stunningly, though, Cincinnati pulled themselves up off the mat, equalizing in the 70th minute. Brenner did it again, netting the first-ever FC Cincinnati hat trick with a low shot from outside the area.

Because no game would be complete without some VAR drama, Brenner thought he’d scored a fourth in the closing minutes, only for the goal to be called back for offside after a VAR check, resulting in a 4-4 draw that was pure MLS madness.

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