NYCFC – 4
Chicago Fire – 1
Match recap …
David Villa struck for a brace and Jefferson Mena and Steven Mendoza scored first half goal to help lift New York City FC to a 4-1 win over the Chicago Fire Friday night at Yankee Stadium, moving into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference and one step closer to a first-ever MLS playoff berth.
NYCFC, which extended a home unbeaten streak to seven games, can book its ticket into the 2016 MLS Audi Playoffs with either an Orlando City SC tie against D.C. United Saturday, a New York Red Bulls win over the Montreal Impact Saturday or a New England Revolution tie or loss against the Columbus Crew Sunday.
NYCFC (13-9-9) raced out to a quick 2-0 lead on a pair of goals in a 62-second span.
In the eighth minute, Andrea Pirlo played a short corner to Ronald Matarrita, who sent a deep cross that Khiry Shelton headed back across the goal. Mena latched on and scored with his knee from inside the six-yard box for his first career MLS goal.
Villa then scored his 18th goal of the season, receiving a square ball from Shelton and putting a low shot from 17 yards out past Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
The Fire (6-14-9) pulled a goal back in the 27th minute when Luis Solignac latched onto an Arturo Alvarez cross and headed into the net from the edge of the six-yard box.
However, NYCFC went into the break with a two-goal lead thanks to a Mendoza golazo one minute before halftime. Villa picked up the ball inside his own 18-yard box following a Chicago corner kick and burst up the field. The captain played to Mendoza, who cut inside the field and hit a blast from 25 yards out into the upper right corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season.
Villa put the finishing touches on the emphatic win when he received a pass from Shelton, cut back on Chicago defender Michael Harrington and scored brilliantly inside the far post from 16 yards out.
How they lined up …
Patrick Vieira made three changes to the starting XI from the side that played FC Dallas to a 2-2 draw last Saturday at Yankee Stadium. Jason Hernandez replaced RJ Allen at right back in the four-man backline, Steven Mendoza started in place of the injured Frank Lampard in the midfield and Khiry Shelton was given the nod in the three-man frontline in place of Jack Harrison.
Harrison came on as Vieira’s first sub, replacing an injured Mendoza in the 58th minute. In the 71st minute, RJ Allen replaced Jason Hernandez and eight minutes later, Federico Bravo came on for Tommy McNamara as NYCFC’s final sub.
Men of the match …
Khiry Shelton and David Villa
One week after heading in the late equalizer, Khiry Shelton assisted on three goals, including a pair a little more than a minute apart early to help NYCFC race out to a 2-0 lead.
David Villa struck for a goal in each half to increase his total to 19 on the season, one off the league lead by Bradley Wright-Phillips of the Red Bulls.
Shelton latched onto a deep cross from Ronald Matarrita and headed back across goal from the endline to Jefferson Mena, who potted his first-ever MLS goal in the eighth minute. He then played a square ball to David Villa, who struck clinically from 17 yards out.
Shelton nearly added a goal in the 79th minute on a quick give-and-go with Villa, but he fired low and just wide of the far post.
Shelton added his third assist in the 83rd minute on Villa’s second goal of the night, taking the ball off his chest and playing to Villa, who cut the ball back on Michael Harrington before finishing inside the far post from 16 yards out.
Shelton now has three goals and nine assists on the season, including one goal and five assists in his last four games. He has one goal and four assists in three games against Chicago this year.
Villa has 19 goals on the season, one more than his total from a year ago. He has struck for a brace five times on the campaign.
Photo of the Match
Key moment …
Jefferson Mena’s first MLS goal opened the scoring for NYCFC in the eighth minute. The central defender was already pushed up for a corner kick, which Andrea Pirlo played short to Ronald Matarrita.
Matarrita sent a cross toward the end line that Khiry Shelton headed in front of goal and Mena did the rest, putting the ball in with his knee from inside the six-yard box to give NYCFC the 1-0 lead.
Stats and milestones …
- Jefferson Mena and David Villa struck for goals 1:02 apart early in the first half. It was the fastest consecutive goal in NYCFC history.
- With three more goals in the opening 45 minutes, NYCFC leads MLS with 28 first-half goals.
- NYCFC is now unbeaten at home in seven consecutive games.
- David Villa scored twice and has 19 goals on the season, one more than his total from a year ago. He is second in MLS in goals scored, one behind Bradley Wright-Phillips of the Red Bulls.
- Khiry Shelton assisted on three NYCFC’s goals. He now has one goal and five assists in his last four games. He also has one goal and four assists against the Fire this season.
- NYCFC moves into sole possession of first place with 48 points, one point in front of Toronto FC and three away from the Red Bulls.
Quote of the Match
What it means …
NYCFC is on the brink of clinching a first-ever berth in the 2016 MLS Audi Playoffs and will do so with a New England Revolution tie or loss against the Columbus Crew Sunday or an Orlando City SC tie against D.C. United Saturday or a New York Red Bulls win over the Montreal Impact Saturday.
NYCFC stretched its franchise-best home unbeaten streak to seven consecutive games and moved into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining in the regular season. NYCFC now has 48 points, one more than Toronto FC and three ahead of the Red Bulls with both teams playing Saturday.
Tweet of the Match
