New York City FC II Goals: Jiménez 6'
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Goals:
Quick Read
New York City FC II recorded a brilliant 1-0 win against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night. An early goal from Jonathan Jiménez in the sixth minute and a spirited defensive display was enough to see City through to the next round of the competition.
Match Recap
New York City FC II were hoping to keep their cup run alive on Wednesday night as they hosted Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Belson Stadium in Queens was the setting for the clash with both sides eager to book a place in the last 16 of the competition.
Head Coach Matt Pilkington made only two changes to the team that overcame Hartford Athletic in the last round - defender Samuel Owusu and forward Jovan Mijatović replacing Ronald Arévalo and Matthew Leong.
City wasted no time in taking the game to Colorado Springs and they were rewarded with an early lead after just six minutes. Scored by Jonathan Jiménez, the forward’s dazzling solo run saw him beat four opposition defenders before calmly slotting the ball past the goalkeeper.
Encouraged by their bright start, Pilkington’s side promptly went in search of a second goal. Meanwhile, Colorado Springs attempted to find an equalizer through a coordinated high press inside City's half.
The visitors slowly began growing into the contest and earned themselves a dangerous freekick on the edge of the penalty area in the 25th minute.
They opted to play the ball short in order to line up an effort from distance, but the eventual shot ended up well wide of Tomás Romero's goal.
The start of the second half again saw City emerge as the better side with Jiménez almost handed the chance to double his tally for the evening.
A strong run out of defence by Owusu allowed him to stride into space and then clip a pass over the opposition's defence and into the path of Jiménez.
The forward was through on goal with just the keeper to beat, but before he could think about taking a shot the play was halted for offside.
Colorado Springs showed no signs of letting up in their attempts to find an equalizer and that saw City face a sustained period of pressure.
The visitors appeared keen to funnel their attacks down the left wing during the early part of the half and that allowed them to fashion several good crossing opportunities.
Stood in their way, however, was a resilient defensive line that sought to repel every delivery that entered the box. City were able to emerge from that spell of pressure and create a chance of their own after a turnover deep in the opposition half.
Forward Taylor Calheira was eventually able to get a shot away only for the ball to be deflected high up into the air. Midfielder Piero Elias did his best to direct the ball towards goal with a header and that forced a scramble inside the Colorado Springs six-yard box.
Several City players then tried to apply a definitive touch to the ball, but in the end, Colorado Springs managed to clear it away from danger.
Pilkington opted to introduce fresh legs in the 70th minute with Máximo Carrizo and Jonathan Shore replaced by Jake Rozhansky and Jacob Arroyave. City were forced into a further change in the 82nd minute after Elias sustained an injury and could not continue with Stevo Bednarsky entering the game in his place.
New York City were still searching for another goal to double their advantage and were handed a great opportunity to do that after McFarlane won a 50-50 challenge just inside his own half.
The defender played a one-two with Jiménez before driving toward the byline and flashing in a low cross that just evaded several teammates arriving into the box.
The visitor’s hopes of finding an equalizer were dealt a significant blow in the 88th minute when they were reduced to ten men. Midfielder Aidan Rocha was the man sent to the locker room early after collecting two yellow cards in quick succession for dissent.
Following several minutes of injury time the referee blew the full-time whistle to confirm a historic night for New York City FC II - Pilkington's side recording a 2-0 win to advance to the last 16 of the competition.
How We Lined Up
What's Next
Next up for New York City FC II is a game against Chicago United on Monday, May 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00PM ET.
