New York City FC secured a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday night at Soldier Field. The match saw Chicago take an early lead through Phillip Zinckernagel in the 14th minute, after Brian Gutiérrez intercepted a pass and set up Zinckernagel for a low finish past goalkeeper Matt Freese.
New York City responded with pressure, coming close to equalizing when Chris Brady saved Alonso Martínez’s shot in the 35th minute. Persistence paid off six minutes later as Hannes Wolf and Kevin O’Toole combined to set up Nicolás Fernández Mercau, who scored from close range to level the match before halftime.
After the break, both teams created chances, but it was New York City that took control around the hour mark. In the 57th minute, Alonso Martínez reacted quickly to a loose ball at a corner and finished low into the net to give his team a 2-1 lead.
Chicago nearly leveled soon after when Jack Elliott’s header narrowly missed connecting with Hugo Cuypers in front of goal. New York City made several substitutions as Head Coach Pascal Jansen brought on Jonny Shore and Agustín Ojeda in an effort to maintain momentum and defensive stability.
The Fire had another opportunity late in the game when Andrew Gutman headed wide from a corner in the 86th minute. In stoppage time, Seymour Reid—who had just entered as a substitute—scored his first MLS goal following a counterattack initiated by Tayvon Gray and assisted by Ojeda. With this goal, Reid became New York City FC’s youngest ever scorer.
“Reid’s introduction proved inspired when he extended New York City’s lead to 3-1 with his first MLS goal in the 93rd minute. The strike came at the end of a brilliant counterattack sparked by Gray, with Ojeda squaring the ball for Reid to calmly slot past Brady to become the youngest goalscorer in Club history.”
The win moves New York City FC forward ahead of their next fixture against Columbus Crew on Wednesday, September 17 at 7:30PM ET.
