By Miguel Rapetti
Aug 17, 2024, 11:41 PM EDT
New York City FC (NYCFC) was eliminated from the Leagues Cup quarterfinals on Saturday after losing on penalties 4-3 to the Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field in Ohio, after tying 1-1 during the 90 minutes of regular time.
It mattered little that Costa Rican Alonso Martinez scored the fastest goal in Leagues Cup history when he scored just 12 seconds into the match to put NYCFC ahead, because they ended up empty-handed.
Although they had multiple chances to increase the difference, especially because Columbus Crew left spaces in their attempt to equalize, they were unable to get the second and the locals took advantage of this to achieve the equality they were hoping for.
Before the break, the Columbus Crew scored through Juan Camilo “Cucho” Hernández, the goal that allowed them to get the final score at 1-1.
Cucho Hernández managed to effectively resolve a cross with a fixed header from the penalty spot that ended up in the net and made the more than 20,000 fans who were present jump.
The goal went down badly for NYCFC, who dropped back and defended themselves, even conceding a goal by Maximilian Arfsten that was ruled offside.
But whether it was due to the poor accuracy of the Columbus Crew attack or the protagonism of the New Yorkers’ goalkeeper, Matt Freese, the match ended up going to penalties where fortune did not smile on New York City FC.
New York City FC looked like they would have the advantage from the penalty spot after previously beating Liga MX rivals Querétaro and New England Revolution, but errors from Argentina’s Maxi Morález and Uruguay’s Santiago Rodríguez condemned their team and Columbus Crew’s four effective shots sealed the tie.
Now the Aurinegros will await the winner of the duel between Philadelphia Union and Mazatlán of Liga MX in the semifinals.
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