Early goal enough to get New York City a win over Cincinnati

New York City FC opened their very busy month of May with an impressive 1-0 win at Citi Field, silencing an FC Cincinnati team that entered having won five straight matches.

A lethal low strike from Julián Fernández in the ninth minute was all it took to separate the teams, though New York City had plenty of chances to add to their lead.

Alonso Martínez drew a penalty in the 12th minute but failed to convert from the spot, blasting his shot off the post. The Costa Rican striker had seven fruitless shot attempts in the game, unable to grab a second goal to make it a more comfortable margin of victory.

Also complicating matters for New York City: Keaton Parks left the match after 26 minutes, unable to continue playing while still struggling with foot issues that have lingered since the team's trip to Columbus on Matchday 5.

No matter, though, as a reworked defensive backline held strong while Cincinnati pushed for an equalizer in the second half, with Matt Freese also doing his part to earn New York City a second straight clean sheet and fourth through 11 matches.

Juli brought his blaster

New York City started this match more on the front foot and in attack mode, especially compared to how they played inside the wind tunnel in Toronto. The change seemed due to Julián Fernández entering the starting lineup, and due to a formation tweak from NYCFC.

Fernández seemed to benefit from New York City's rejiggered formation – which functioned as a 3-2-4-1 in the first half – with the Argentine afforded lots of free space on the right wing in the game's opening minutes.

That favored Fernández left foot provided a lead inside the opening ten minutes, the earliest goal scored by a New York City player so far this season. The move leading to the goal started with Keaton Parks intercepting a loose Cincinnati pass, and a blocked Maxi Moralez cross attempt ultimately teed Julián up for his strike.

Precision strike from Julián Fernández to give @newyorkcityfc the lead inside 10 minutes. 🎯

📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/6tllLTom0W pic.twitter.com/bhs8bFkPGl

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 4, 2025

The finish was one of Fernández's better ones since coming to New York City, great placement combined with power, and all pulled off fluidly in one motion on a loose ball that rolled fortuitously into the 21-year-old's path.

Fernández had strong moments throughout this his first match back in the Starting XI since the home loss to Minnesota United FC on Matchday 7 when Pascal Jansen removed him at the 40-minute mark with New York City trailing by two goals.

He now has two goals and two assists through 11 appearances in 2025, meaning he's already matched his goal and assist totals from the entirety of the 2024 season when he appeared in 21 MLS matches. The team has been crying out for someone else outside of Alonso Martínez to contribute in the final third, and at least on this day, Fernández stepped up.

Death Star not yet fully operational

Fernández got New York City off to its fastest start of the season, but things were slightly rockier for the home team during the remainder of the first half.

Mere minutes after the opening goal, New York City got a chance to double the lead when Cincinnati's Matt Miazga got beat for pace by Alonso Martínez and pushed the onrushing striker in the box, whistled for a penalty by Drew Fischer. We should point out that Martínez got past Miazga thanks to an excellent, perfectly weighted upfield ball from center-back Thiago Martins – who made his 100th New York City FC appearance in this game, it's worth noting.

Martínez couldn't cash in on the opportunity, though, putting his driven 14th-minute penalty kick hard off the post and letting Cincinnati off the hook.

Martínez might have been looking at a multi-goal match against Cincinnati if he was feeling and playing like his usual El Clínico self, but he instead missed the best of New York City's non-Julián Fernández scoring chances. Martínez misplaced a headed shot in the 61st while unmarked and directly in front of goal after he'd been picked out precisely by a Tayvon Gray cross, while he also had two shots stopped by Roman Celentano.

New York City has relied on Martínez to deliver up top while getting steady excellence from Keaton Parks in the midfield, but Parks only lasted the game's first 26 minutes while struggling with a foot injury that's lingered since the 0-0 draw in Columbus on Matchday 4, when Parks left after just 35 minutes.

That forced Justin Haak back into the midfield and forced Birk Risa up off the bench early in the half, further thinning out a New York City squad already playing without injured defenders Mitja Ilenič and Kevin O'Toole – and while awaiting the resolution of the work visa process for newly-signed midfielder Aiden O'Neill.

Holding on for a win and a clean sheet while working with a somewhat makeshift formation, midfield, and backline counts as a success, though it's still not clear when the fully-fit, deepest version of this NYCFC team will be available to Pascal Jansen.

It's a trap

This was a result that required something of a grind from New York City, as Cincinnati had their fair share of chances to equalize, and likely operated with lots of confidence they would find a goal given the great recent form the team has enjoyed. Cincinnati entered on a winning streak, yes, but also with dual in-form attacking threats in striker Kévin Denkey and midfielder Evander.

Opportunities kept popping up for Cincy as the second half progressed, and New York City's goalkeeper was called upon to ensure the lead remained. Matt Freese made his best save of the game late on in the 78th minute to preserve his clean sheet, charging alertly off his line to close down the shooting angle and stop a close-range shot from Gerardo Valenzuela.

Big stop from Matt Freese to preserve the shutout. 🧤

We're into the final 10 minutes at Citi Field. ⏳ pic.twitter.com/Uptwfq2VAM

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 4, 2025

Freese and his defenders saw out the result, but they now enter their first three-match week of the season coming off a grueling performance and with two different potential "trap" games in front of them against teams they, in theory, should beat. Pittsburgh Riverhounds of USL Championship in US Open Cup first on Wednesday night, then CF Montréal, winless and at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.

Two consecutive 1-0 wins against very different calibers of opponents provide a springboard and some momentum for NYCFC heading into the thick of May's congested schedule, but the potential pitfalls are there. New York City still struggles to find goals plural, but their defense has tightened up even in light of injuries to some key players.

Beating FC Cincinnati is progress for this season's team, but that team is still yet to produce a comprehensive, convincing 90-minute performance. How they deal with the next two matches on the schedule could say a lot about the makeup of this year's team.