TORONTO — Rookie Malachi Jones and Andrés Perea scored a second-half goal and Matt Freese made nine saves as New York City FC held on for a 3-2 win over Toronto FC on Saturday night.
Santiago Rodríguez gave New York City (5-5-2) a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick in the 25th minute. Rodríguez scored for the fourth time this season – sending a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the net after a handball foul on Toronto midfielder Matty Longstaff.
Jones’ first career goal gave NYCFC a 2-0 halftime lead. Another rookie Hannes Wolf he got help when Jones – a 20-year-old player – scored in the 44th minute.
Toronto (6-5-1) pulled within a score early in the second half after an unassisted goal by Federico Bernardeschi in the 55th minute. Bernardeschi scored his first two goals of the season last week in a 3-1 win over FC Dallas.
NYCFC regained a two-goal lead in the 78th minute on Perea’s first score of the season. Wolf and rookie Agustín Ojeda assisted him. Ojeda’s assist was the first of his career and Wolf’s was the third in his first season.
Toronto again pulled a goal when the defender Raoul Petretta he found the net for the first time in his career – in the 89th minute – assisted by Longstaff.
Bernardeschi was shown a red card two minutes after Petretta’s goal, forcing Toronto to play a man down in stoppage time.
Freese finished one save shy of matching his career high.
Sean Johnson he turned away one shot for Toronto.
Toronto saw a three-game winning streak come to an end under first-year manager John Herdman. Toronto has gone from the worst team in the league last season to third place in the Eastern Conference at the start of the day. The club already have 19 points this season after finishing the 2023 campaign with 22.
Lorenzo Insignia Insigne saw his first action for Toronto since March 23rd. Insigne, who had not played since suffering a thigh injury in a 2-0 win over Atlanta United, signed for Derrick Etienne Jr. in the 76th minute and missed his only shot.
NYCFC defeated Toronto 2-1 at home earlier in the season, earning the first win for first-year manager Nick Cushing by handing Toronto its first loss.
NYCFC leads the all-time series 11-9-7. NYCFC has won the last four in the game by a combined score of 13-3.
New York City stays on the road to play the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday. Toronto travels to play Nashville SC on Wednesday.
2024-05-12 03:22:39
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