New York City FC II Goals: Shore 9’, Carrizo 53’
Chicago Fire FC II Goals: Nigg 60'
Quick ReadÂ
New York City FC II returned to winning ways Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory over Chicago Fire FC II at Belson Stadium. A 9th minute opener from Jonny Shore was added to early in the second half by Máximo Carrizo. Damian Nigg reduced NYCFC II's advantage, but the hosts held on to win 2-1.
Match Recap
New York City FC II were back on home turf Tuesday night as they hosted Chicago Fire FC II at Belson Stadium.
Head Coach Matt Pilkington was keen to respond to a 2-1 defeat last time out and named a strong XI for the visit of Chicago, which was boosted by the inclusion of several players with recent First Team experience, such as Jonny Shore, Máximo Carrizo, Arnau Farnós, and Seymour Reid.
An end-to-end start to the contest saw little in the way of clear-cut chances before Shore broke the deadlock in the ninth minute.
The midfielder pounced on a loose ball in midfield and, after driving some 30 yards toward goal, opened up his body and curled a delightful shot past the goalkeeper from the edge of the box.
It was almost 2-0 minutes later when a deep corner kick was played back across goal by Reid, only for Chicago to scramble the ball away from danger.
The visitors responded with a chance of their own in the 18th minute through Chase Nagle on the right, but he failed to make clean contact, allowing Mac Learned to gather comfortably.
Chicago then engineered a 4v3 attacking situation minutes later, but a combination of Adonis Campos and Learned quelled the danger.
New York City wrestled back control of possession before Chicago registered another chance in the 38th minute, with Damyan Villanueva firing high and wide from the left channel.
The start of the second half saw one change for Pilkington’s side, as the impressive Shore was replaced by Pete Molinari in midfield.
Molinari wasted little time involving himself in the game, initiating the move that ultimately led to New York City FC II’s second goal of the game.
The midfielder’s pass to Reid allowed the Jamaican to find Carrizo. Much like NYCFC II’s opener, he drove toward goal before shooting from the edge of the box past Jason Nemo Jr. for his first goal of the season.
Chicago almost found an instant response through Damian Nigg after an attempted clearance cannoned off him and sent him through on goal from a tight angle. Thankfully for NYCFC II, he dragged his shot well wide of the target.
Nigg found himself in behind again on the hour mark and was able to finish on this occasion, shooting low past an advancing Learned to make it 2-1.
Pilkington turned to his bench in the minutes after that goal to make two changes, with Cooper Flax and Sebastiano Musu replacing Farnós and Reid.
Learned was called into action again as Nigg once more found himself in space down NYCFC II’s left. His low shot across goal was comfortably gathered, however.
In the 72nd minute, Chicago substitute Vitaliy Hlyut had the first of two looks at goal in the space of a few minutes. Driving inside from NYCFC II’s left toward goal, his eventual shot from just outside the box trickled wide.
Pilkington’s final changes of the evening came not long after, as Carrizo and Campos were replaced by Dylan Randazzo and Jacob Arroyave.
Oscar Pineda attempted to draw Chicago level with an effort from distance in the 88th minute, only for Learned to get down low and gather the ball.
In stoppage time, Randazzo saw an effort blocked before a header from Flax forced a save from Nemo Jr.
That proved to be the last chance of note on the night as New York City FC II recorded an impressive 2-1 win against Chicago Fire FC II.
How We Lined Up
What's NextÂ
Next up for New York City FC II is a game against New England Revolution II. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00PM ET on Sunday, May 10.
