A little luck sees NYCFC beat Toronto FC to win the first road game of 2025 | OneFootball

Pascal Jansen understood the pressure to win was immense when New York City FC entered Saturday’s fixture against Toronto FC.  The Pigeons were 1-3-1 in their last five games and had been struggling to score.  They might have been on the road, which the road is not a kind place, but that did not matter.  Winning was the only option before entering May, the most congested month of the season so far.

Truthfully, the Pigeons had a shot, for Toronto is having another tough season.  They won their first game last week, but ultimately it looks like the Reds, at least at this time, will finish toward the bottom of the table.  As such, NYCFC had the possibility of leaving with all three points.

The head coach also made the smart choice to go with two wingers alongside Alonso Martínez again, for Mounsef Bakrar did not perform well against the New England Revolution last week.  Still, there were questions about whether the attack could capitalize on solid chances.

The answer was that they continued to struggle.  Missed chances and poor attempts were common, but NYCFC managed to beat Toronto FC 1-0 despite all of this.  The team also won their first road match of the season.

NYCFC finds a way to beat Toronto FC

At first, it felt like things might continue to be difficult in the attack.  NYCFC had a perfect opportunity with a free kick in the 10th minute.  Maxi Moralez sent the ball into the box, and Keaton Parks was in a perfect position to try and head the ball into the goal.  Instead, he misdirected it and sent it wide.  There was no question that he could have scored if he had sent it in the right direction.

Then, in the 17th minute, Martínez had a chance to score, but his shot was weak and went right toward Toronto’s goalkeeper, Sean Johnson.  The former NYCFC captain did not have to do much other than drop to the ground to corral the ball.

The 45th minute also saw a perfect opportunity to put the ball on target.  But Hannes Wolf’s shot was blocked and resulted in a corner kick, but nothing came to fruition from it.

The winger had another opportunity in the 54th when he sent the ball over Johnson and, for a split second, appeared to be heading into the back of the net.  But Toronto’s Kosi Thompson headed the ball off the line to keep the match at 0-0.

This was the overall trend for a good portion of the match.  The Pigeons competed with Toronto without issue, but the Reds had the stronger chances during the game.  If not for a vital clearance in the 31st minute, Justin Haak’s intervention to prevent a shot on goal in the 40th, a brilliant block by Tayvon gray in the 81st, and Matt Freese playing another strong game, then it is very possible the Boys in Blue could have been down a goal or two. The defense kept the Reds in check and limited them to one shot on target.

Meanwhile, the capitalization on chances was not the only issue for most of the game.  Some of the passes that could have led to offensive opportunities were lackluster.  Crosses into the box were also not satisfactory, for too often, nobody was on the other end.

However, sometimes one needs a little luck.  Thankfully, NYCFC was awarded a penalty kick.  Looking at the foul, the call could have gone either way.  Nevertheless, there was no request for it to be reviewed, and Martínez stepped up to take the kick.  The forward kicked the ball toward the bottom left corner of the goal, beating Johnson with his power.  After 64 minutes, the goal finally arrived, and it was the game winner.

When all is said and done, NYCFC must improve their scoring.  There were too many lost opportunities from open play.  Without the issues in the attack, the Pigeons probably would have scored another goal or two.  And Jansen must figure this out quickly, for there are too many matches in May to go through this rough patch.

NYCFC had a little luck when it came to scoring on Saturday.  Fortunately, the penalty kick and a good defensive performance led the Pigeons to their first road win of the season.  It was not easy or pretty, and the concerns remain.  But regardless, this was a much-needed win.