By Anonymous (not verified), May 7, 2023
From NYCFC
Charlotte FC 2-3 New York City Football Club
Saturday, May 6, 2023 | Kick-off Time: 7:39pm ET
Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte, North Carolina
Attendance: 30,454
KEY POINTS
New York City Football Club fell on the road against Charlotte Football Club in a 3-2 loss in the team’s second-ever visit to the Bank of America Stadium. While the Boys in Blue showed tenacity in answering two of Charlotte’s goals with quick responses of their own, a win in the Queen City was just not in the cards for the Club this evening after an unlucky own goal sealed the match’s fate and extended the home side’s longest-ever unbeaten run.
After successfully converting and scoring the team’s second goal of the evening, Santiago Rodríguez currently takes NYCFC’s top spot for most goals scored this season with four. Additionally, Gabriel Pereira, who slotted home the Club’s first goal of the night, now has three overall and is tied with Talles Magno for second-most goals scored. Their two goals on the scoreboard today mark the highest number of goals NYCFC has scored as visitors in a single away game this season so far.
NYCFC continues on the road for the foreseeable future, with the next three matches across all competitions being away from home. The Boys in Blue will face off against FC Cincinnati in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 on Wednesday before MLS Rivalry Week kicks in next weekend, where NYCFC will play another installment of the Hudson River Derby against the New York Red Bulls. Finally, the Club caps this stretch on the road against Orlando City SC.
Key Moment: After conceding a second goal just before the end of the half, NYCFC returned and was determined to equalize and get back in the game! They’d responded to Charlotte FC’s first goal with one of their own, and this second time was no different for the Boys in Blue. When a penalty was awarded to NYCFC, Santi Rodríguez stepped up in the 57th minute to calmly and coolly convert it to tie up the game. While Rodríguez’s goal would unfortunately be the last one for the Boys in Blue that evening, it demonstrated the willingness and determination of the squad to come back after being a goal down.
MOTM: Midfielder - Santiago Rodríguez [10]
90 Minutes; 1 goal; 3 shots (2 on target); 88.2% pass accuracy rate
Up Next: New York City Football Club makes their first appearance this season in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against FC Cincinnati for a Round of 32 match on Wednesday, May 10 at 7 p.m. at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Press conference transcript below
NYCFC Head Coach Nick Cushing - Click Here
NYCFC Midfielder Santiago Rodriguez - Click here
SCORING SUMMARY
8’ - CLT - Enzo Copetti [9]
Right-footed shot from close range to the center of goal. Assisted by McKinze Gaines [17].
37’ - NYC - Gabriel Pereira [11]
Left-footed shot to the bottom right corner of goal. Assisted by Richard Ledezma [20].
39’ - CLT - Enzo Copetti [9]
Header from the center of the box to the top right corner of goal. Assisted by Justin Meram [22].
57’ - NYC - Santiago Rodríguez [10]
Penalty converted with a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner of goal.
74’ - CLT - Richard Ledezma [20] (Own Goal)
Team
First Half
Second Half
Full Time
New York City Football Club
1
1
2
Charlotte FC
2
1
3
STATS
Team
New York City FC
(4-4-3)
Charlotte FC
(3-5-3)
Possession
58.2
41.8
Shots
10
11
Shots on Goal
6
3
Pass Accuracy %
85.9
81.5
Fouls
14
9
Corner Kicks
7
7
Saves
1
4
Full Match Statistics - Click Here
LINEUPS
New York City FC (4-3-3)
Charlotte FC (4-3-3)
Head Coach: Nick Cushing
[1] Luis Barraza
[3] Braian Cufré (77’ - [22] Kevin O’Toole)
[6] James Sands (C)
[13] Thiago Martins
[24] Tayvon Gray (16’ - [35] Mitja Ilenič)
[55] Keaton Parks
[21] Andres Jasson (46’ - [43] Talles Magno)
[20] Richard Ledezma
[7] Alfredo Morales
[10] Santiago Rodríguez
[11] Gabriel Pereira
Head Coach: Christian Lattanzio
[1] Kristijan Kahlina
[14] Nathan Byrne
[29] Adilson Malanda (65’ - [13] Brandt Bronico)
[2] Jan Sobocinski
[24] Jaylin Lindsey
[8] Ashley Westwood
[11] Karol Swiderski
[20] Derrick Jones
[17] McKinze Gaines (71’ - [32] Hamady Diop)
[9] Enzo Copetti (90’+3’ - [36] Brandon Cambridge)
[22] Justin Meram (72’ - [18] Kerwin Vargas)
Subs Unused
[19] Gabe Segal
[49] Matt Freese
[80] Justin Haak
[4] Maxime Chanot
[34] Stephen Turnbull
[25] Cody Mizell
Subs Unused
[15] Benjamin Bender
[25] Harrison Afful
[23] Pablo Sisniega
[18] Kerwin Vargas
[19] Christopher Hegardt
[33] Patrick Agyemang
UNAVAILABLE PLAYERS
New York City Football Club
Charlotte Football Club
OUT - Tony Alfaro [93] - Lower Body
OUT - Matías Pellegrini [17] - Lower Body
OUT - Guzman Corujo [4] - Right Knee Surgery
OUT - Joseph Mora [28] - Left Knee
OUT - Bill Tuiloma [6] - Right Thigh
OUT - Kamil Jóźwiak [7] - Right Thigh
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
NYC
Fouls (14)
3’ - Santiago Rodríguez [10], 13’ - Braian Cufré [3], 22’ - Braian Cufré [3], 25’ - Mitja Ilenič [35], 35’ - Alfredo Morales [7], 41’ - Alfredo Morales [7], 45’+2’ - Andres Jasson [21], 51’ - Santiago Rodríguez [10], 63’ - Alfredo Morales [7], 73’ - Braian Cufré [3], 79’ - Santiago Rodríguez [10], 83’ - Alfredo Morales [7], 85’ - Keaton Parks [55], 90’+2’ - Thiago Martins [13]
Yellow Cards (2)
14’ - Richard Ledezma [20] - Other Reason
63’ - Alfredo Morales [7] - Dissent
Red Cards (0)
CLT
Fouls (9)
2’ - Derrick Jones [20], 3’ - Jan Sobocinski [2], 10’ - Justin Meram [22], 23’ - McKinze Gaines [17], 29’ - Justin Meram [22], 30’ - Jaylin Lindsey [24], 50’ - Adilson Malanda [29], 66’ - Enzo Copetti [9], 87’ - Kerwin Vargas [18]
Yellow Cards (3)
2’ - Derrick Jones [20] - Bad Foul
14’ - Justin Meram [22] - Other Reason
66’ - Enzo Copetti [9] - Dissent
Red Cards (0)
OFFICIALS
Referee: Chris Penso
Ast. Referee 1: Matthew Nelson
Ast. Referee 2: Kevin Lock
Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk
VAR: Daniel Radford
Ast. VAR: TJ Zablocki
UPCOMING MATCH
Wednesday, May 10, 2023, 7 p.m. ET - Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 v. FC Cincinnati | TQL Stadium; Cincinnati, Ohio | Broadcast: CBS Sports Golazo Network | Radio: nycfc.com/radio
MATCH RECAP
Quick Read
New York City Football Club are still awaiting a first road win of 2023, having fallen to a 3-2 reverse at FC Charlotte. Though the Boys in Blue twice fought back from a goal down through a Gabriel Pereira strike and a Santiago Rodríguez penalty, Enzo Copetti's first-half brace and a Richy Ledezma own-goal secured all three points for the Crown at Bank of America Stadium.
Match Recap
In the first of a three-game week, Head Coach Nick Cushing made five changes to the side that traveled to Toronto FC last time out, as Braian Cufré, Alfredo Morales, Gabriel Pereira, Andres Jasson and Tayvon Gray were restored to the starting XI, in place of Maxime Chanot, Matías Pellegrini, Kevin O’Toole, Mitja Ilenič and Talles Magno.
The trip to North Carolina marked only the third meeting between the two sides, with Charlotte having emerged victorious from both fixtures in 2022. Unbeaten in their previous four at home, the Crown started brightly with Jan Sobocinski volleying over an early warning on six minutes.
Two minutes later, the hosts broke the deadlock through a well-worked move down the right. Ashley Westwood unlocked the City defense with a through-ball into McKinze Gaines’ path. The winger whipped a teasing delivery to the six-yard box, where Copetti slammed in the opener.
There was further frustration for the City Boys with Gray forced off through injury, and matters were almost made worse on 27’ as Justin Meram’s curler bounced wide off the post, before Karol Swiderski headed in from close range – the effort thankfully ruled out by the offside flag.
Cushing’s side rallied on the half-hour as Keaton Parks drew a smart stop from Kristijan Kahlina with a deflected drive, while Luis Barraza was equal to another Swiderski attempt at the other end.
Within a minute, the Boys in Blue were level. Building from the back, the visitors turned defense into attack in three passes, as Thiago Martins collected from Barraza, and found Ledezma in the center. The midfielder played a one-touch pass perfectly into Pereira’s path, and the Brazilian composed himself before coolly finishing into the nearpost for his third goal of the campaign.
The joy would prove short-lived however, as Charlotte restored their lead instantly via a set-piece, when Copetti nodded in Meram’s corner.
Cushing introduced Talles Magno at the break, and the Brazilian made a positive impact. Again, Charlotte dominated the early exchanges – with Adilson Malanda and Jaylin Lindsey trying their luck – before the City forward looked to spark a moment of magic, cutting inside and firing wide.
The 20-year-old would play a part in New York’s second equalizer however, receiving Rodríguez’s pass and finding Cufré in the box, who was upended by Malanda to win a penalty. Despite a lengthy delay due to injury, Rodríguez kept his cool to lash home the spot-kick, netting his third goal in as many games.
Parks then tested Kahlina from range with the Crown shot-stopper comfortably claiming the strike, but once again, Charlotte would regain their advantage through a set-piece, as Swiderski’s free-kick unfortunately clipped Ledezma and looped into the back of the net.
The midfielder almost made amends at the right end in response, diverting substitute Kevin O’Toole’s cross goalward – only for Kahlina to palm the effort away well.
As the Boys in Blue pressed for a third leveler of the night late on, Rodríguez skewed an acrobatic attempt wide and stung the palms of the home ‘keeper, while Ledezma also smashed goalward from distance, though ultimately to no avail.
QUOTES
NYCFC HEAD COACH NICK CUSHING
On speaking to Richard Ledezma following his unlucky own goal…
“I think the guys are in the locker room pretty down and pretty disappointed. Everything we wanted to do in the game we did, and I thought we carried the game and dominated the game again away from home. We got into really good areas and we created some chances, but you know we’d like to create more. But it’s unfortunate, it’s not Richy’s [Ledezma] fault, it's a moment in the game. And of course, we want to be better on set-play. It’s the one area that if we’re better at it in this game, we win the game. So, he’ll be down but I imagine the same as the other guys, they’re down because we lost the game.”
On if the team’s mentality is to play to not lose rather than playing to win…
“We carry a game where we (had) 60% of the ball. We’re dictating the game for the majority—maybe the first ten, fifteen, twenty minutes we didn’t—but for the rest we carried the game. They [Charlotte FC] changed the shape to five; I know the coach very well and I know the way he wants to play, and it’s not five and four on the top of his box. So I don’t see a team that’s trying not to win. I see the complete opposite, I see a team that’s desperate to win.”
On if the squad has depth when an impact is needed off the bench…
“I think we bring Talles [Magno] off the bench and he creates a moment where we get a penalty, so I do think we’ve got a bench to go and chase a goal. I think Santi [Rodríguez] really came alive when we dropped him a little bit deeper, and Gabriel Pereira’s been probably our best defensive player all season. I think we do have the bench, I think we proved that by making the change at halftime. I think Kevin O’Toole comes on and starts to put balls in the box. So, whether we make two or four—previously we’ve made more substitutions, today we made two, last week we made two—I feel like we really tried to push the game. I think there was a moment in the second half after we went 2-2 where we probably expected Charlotte to really push the game, and it’s a poor foul and an unfortunate own goal. But, throughout the game there’s always (a change) to win.”
On the circumstances of Braian Cufré’s substitution and tactical adjustments…
“[Braian] Cufré came off because he was tired. We actually planned before the free kick to put Kevin O’Toole on. You could look at the wide-angle, we were preparing for two, three minutes before that. Tactically, the game was exactly how we expected. We could talk for the next hour about tactics. We knew they were going to jump on the right side, and we played through it every time. We dropped Santi [Rodríguez] a little bit deeper, put Richy [Ledezma] on the side, and brought Talles [Magno] on in the nine, and that gave us an improvement. They won the game, so he [Charlotte FC Coach Christian Lattanzio] won’t care whether they or us were the best with tactics. I was pleased with that performance, and I was pleased with the desire and soul of the team. I am, of course, not happy with conceding two goals on the road from set-play. You can see if you concede two goals on the road from set-play you don’t win football games.”
On if the mid-week U.S. Open Cup match is an opportunity to bounce back…
“I think ultimately I ask this of the guys. And I will continue to say that I’ve been pleased with the desire, you can see a team that has a huge desire to win football games whether it’s at home or away. And the nature of our league is home advantage is a big plus for you. We know that the away games are more complex, but I was really pleased with the performance today and the reaction from a Toronto [FC] performance that was a little bit flat and not as sharp as we would want. I was really pleased with the leadership of James Sands, Keaton Parks, Thiago Martins, and Gabriel Pereira, those guys really pushing the team. I was pleased, I said to the guys: ‘We play like that on the road and we tighten those real small things, like giving silly free kicks and corners away. And then you look at the goals. The first goal we’re disappointed with, but tactically it’s the goal that Charlotte won, and we can improve in that area.’ Then we score, we miss the kickoff, and then they score from the set-play; we have to tighten up in that area because it’s a cheap goal. Then we play and we dictate the game, and then we get a cheap foul where they put another set-play in and we concede a goal. They’re small moments but the margins are so small in our league, and home advantage means that if you give those moments you give teams momentum. But if we play like that away from home, over-and-over again we’ll win football games.”
On the centerback pairing of James Sands and Thiago Martins and the trickle-down impact of it…
“I think ultimately you’ve nailed it. The reason why we have to change it is because of the number of minutes that those two guys have played together. I understand, you guys will say ‘but if they’ve played together, they’ve played well.’ But if you roll back five months ago we went into an Eastern Conference Final with none of these guys because of injury. They play so many minutes together that the nature of our league with U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup, and with now a three-game playoff, nobody can play every game. We play in two days, and then we play three days after that, and then we play midweek, so there’s no way that we can roll the same guys, so we have to rotate. I was really really pleased with James Sands and Thiago Martins. James Sands has played there before for us, so we know that he can go and play down there. Alfredo Morales has not played so much football. He went in at Houston, came out. And went in last week with 40 minutes and showed leadership and his ability to play away from home and be a leader. Today, I thought he was excellent. His ability to break-up play and go and get the ball back and really give the team leadership was exactly why he was in there. I thought Keaton Parks was one of our best players today. I’ll say it again, with the performance there’s two areas of the game that I think we can improve: one, set play, we have to get better because you cannot give two goals away from home and expect to win football games; and the second one is to create clear chances, because if we create chances from the moments that we have then we’ll win football games. But, I was pleased with our defensive game today, I just want more because I always will.”
NYCFC MIDFIELDER SANTIAGO RODRÍGUEZ
On what the team needs to do to win a game away from home…
“Firstly, good evening to everyone. Honestly, I’m not sure, we would need to clearly look at what we did wrong. The dead ball cost us a lot. We need to correct those errors because they’re costing us a lot away from home and we need those points to get into the playoffs.”
On if the U.S. Open Cup match is a welcome change of pace from MLS play…
“Well, it’s a different competition and above all it’s another tournament that we need to face with the same seriousness and commitment that it deserves. We need to win every game, no matter if it's the [U.S. Open] Cup or the league. We need to put ourselves in the right state of mind and win to improve the confidence of the group; and start to win because we’re dropping many points away from home. Maybe we can take this change of pace, as you said, and use it to start winning again.”
On if the team has a tendency to switch-off during inopportune moments…
“No, honestly, I couldn’t tell you what the issue was to concede after we scored. I think that today the dead balls, free-kicks, and corners impacted us, but these are things to focus on and be more attentive at. We must think that we can do better and be united when it’s time to defend so this doesn’t again. As you said, in the two moments we were able to tie the game they scored on us again, that makes it an uphill battle the rest of the game, especially if we can't at the very least, maintain the tie so that we can look to go up in the game."