After a full 90 minutes and a penalty kick shootout, New York City FC upset FC Cincinnati and advanced to the next round of the MLS Cup.
The first half would start with FCC on the front foot, as they would get numerous goal-scoring chances early on. NYCFC would play very laid-back, and they would be more than fine draining as much clock as possible.
The best first-half chances would be taken by FCC wingback Luca Orellano. His first big chance would come in the 27th minute, as star midfielder Lucho Acosta would find Orellano in space. Orellano would take a shot at the top near the corner of the net but would miss very marginally. He would get another chance just a few minutes later, get on the end of a deflected pass, and rip a shot at the net. In the end, though, NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese would make a heroic diving save to prevent the goal.
The first half would come and go, with both teams still without a goal. The second half would be a lot more tamer on goal-scoring chances, as both teams would get a lot more physical and would end the game still tied 0-0.
In the first round of MLS playoffs, games that end in ties are forced to bypass extra time and immediately go straight into penalty kicks. FCC would go first and make their penalty, which would be the start of three rounds of PKs without someone missing. FCC would be the first one to miss though, as midfielder Pavel Bucha’s attempt was saved by Matt Freese. FCC goalkeeper Roman Celetano would return the favor just two rounds later, and come up with a diving save on NYCFC defender Thiago Martins’ attempt. It would take until the 9th round and sudden death for a team to get the win on PKs, with NYCFC being the ones to make the breakthrough. NYCFC fullback Mitja Ilenic would strike the ball to his right and Celetano would guess left.
With the 0-0 (6-5 pk) win, NYCFC advances to the 2nd round of the MLS Playoffs and will face stateside rivals New York Red Bulls. FCC, on the other hand, ended their 2024 season on a disappointing note and will look to rebuild the team for the ‘25 season,
