New York City FC player ratings are determined by Hudson River Blue readers: Here are your NYCFC player ratings from the frustrating 2-3 loss at home after a red card reduced New York City to 10 players.
New York City brought the fight but came up short: It took nothing less than a thunderstorm, a red card, and a questionable penalty to take down NYCFC last Friday night in the Bronx.
Much has been said about what didn’t go right for New York City. But maybe not enough attention has been paid to what went right: The team didn’t quit. Not in the first half, when they went up 1-0 after Alonso Martínez provided an exquisite back-heel assist to Agustín Ojeda. Not in the second half, after falling behind 1-3.
And certainly not in the final 15 minutes of the game, when New York City’s 10 players were running circles around a fully stacked Columbus. Or, as our colleagues at Massive Report put it:
The ultra attacking from #NYCFC is something to be scared of because hot damn… the press is unreal
— Massive Report (@MassiveReport) June 15, 2024
But the result goes into the books as a loss. Our reader’s ratings reflect both the intensity and heart of how this team played, and the disappointment in the final scoreline.
Note: FotMob ratings are in parentheses.
Alonso Martínez, off 56′ (6.8) – 6.4
Santiago Rodríguez (8.3) – 8.1
Hannes Wolf, off 74′ (5.6) – 5.5
Agustín Ojeda, off 46′ (7.4) – 7.5
Keaton Parks (6.8) – 6.1
James Sands (6.4) – 6.4
Mitja Ilenič, red card 39′ (5.4) – 3.3
Tayvon Gray, off 74′ (5.9) – 6.5
Strahinja Tanasijević (6.4) – 5.1
Birk Risa (5.8) – 5.5
Matt Freese (6.5) – 8.6
Andrés Perea, on 46′ (6.2) – 5.5
Maxi Morzlez, on 56′ (7.6) – 8.0
Malachi Jones, on 74′ (6.3) – 6.7
Christian McFarlane, on 74′ (6.5) – 6.5
Player Spotlight
Christian McFarlane
What a way to make a major league debut.
When 17-year-old Christian McFarlane was named to the gameday lineup, the smart money was on the left-back appearing late in that game if – and only if – New York City had a comfortable lead.
Instead, the defender was brought on in the 74th minute as a part of a double-switch that Cushing hoped would change the course of the game. It almost worked. New York City dominated the final 13 minutes of regulation and 14 minutes of stoppage time, scoring one goal and coming close to finding another.
In other words, McFarlane’s debut came in a high-stakes game, at a high-pressure moment
At just 17 years old, Christian McFarlane makes his @MLS debut 👏 pic.twitter.com/BJeTxKqxWb
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) June 15, 2024
He was up to the challenge. The left-back completed five of six passes for a completion rate of 83% and created two chances — one of which was a delicious cross across the mouth of the goal. He won his only tackle, and his only ground duel. Nicely done.
He also looked a little uncertain at times. It’s understandable. At one point, he had the ball in a dangerous position and chose to make a safe lateral pass rather than fire an attempt on the goal as the injured Kevin O’Toole might have done. That’s OK. There will be other opportunities as he grows into the game.
The teenager will likely get more minutes in the coming weeks, and will improve with every appearance.
Mark Radigan
Nick Cushing – 6.2
Are the days of hating on the head coach simply because he was named “Nick” and “Cushing” behind us? It seems so, now that our readers are judging him based on his performances, and not condemning him for simply existing.
This 6.2 seems fair given the result, and the fight put up by a shorthanded New York City. The fact is, this was always going to be a tough game: A NYCFC missing two key defenders was bound to have a rough time containing the silky-smooth Columbus attack.
As for the 39′ red card, it looked like it would sink New York City. Only it didn’t, at least not right away: NYCFC scored first, and the late substitutions made by Cushing almost got a result against the odds. Give credit to a team that didn’t give up, and to the head coach who looks to be creating something special out of this young squad.
Alexis Da Silva — 1.6
This isn’t just the lowest number for a referee this year, it’s the lowest rating for any player or coach in 20204, full stop.
Was it because of the red card shown to Mitja Ilenič, who took down a much larger Christian Ramirez maybe a little too easily? Or the penalty awarded to Columbus thanks to VAR despite not looking like a particularly clear or obvious error?
Or was it because Da Silva was alarmingly inconsistent throughout the match? Da Silva whistled Columbus for exactly one foul in the first half: Either the Crew were an unusually gracious and thoughtful guest at Yankee Soccer Stadium, or Da Silva missed a lot of calls.
Here’s one: Just moments before Ilenič was shown a red card, Max Arfsten flipped the New York City defender over his thigh — and Ilenič was called for the foul.
As Mark Radigan pointed out in the Game Recap, “Da Silva is relatively inexperienced as a head referee, officiating just six MLS matches in 2024 including this one, and another three in 2023. In his six matches this year, Da Silva handed out two red cards, 18 yellow cards, and awarded four penalties.” No wonder he was criticized by Cushing in the postgame press conference, and earned a collective 1.6 from our readers.
Andrew Leigh
Player of the Match
Matt Freese
The fact that New York City were in this game until the final whistle can be credited to Matt Freese, who made eight saves in the first alone on his way to a nine-save performance.
FREESING THEM OUT LIKE USUAL 🧤 pic.twitter.com/CyWsNgdQFP
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) June 15, 2024
The shotstopper stepped up his game behind a defense missing Thiago Martins and Kevin O’Toole, and had Tayvon Gray playing out of position on the left. Then there was Ilenič’s red card, which brought attacker Hannes Wolf back into the defense. Add to all of that a controversial penalty awarded to Columbus via an extensive VAR check, and even a standout game by Freese couldn’t give New York City a result.
No matter. The Iceman has cemented himself as one of the top players on what is looking like a very good team, and one of the best goalkeepers in the league. Don’t take our word for it, even if senior writer Matthew Mangam took a deep dive into Freese’s excellence with his analysis a little more than two weeks ago. MLS pundit Charles Boehm chronicled the history behind what looks to be the goalkeeper’s breakout season just last Wednesday.
But you were already on the Matt Freese Hype Train, which is why this is the fifth Player of the Match awarded to him this season by HRB readers.
Matthew Mangam
