Matt Freese, unbothered by the jeers of the fans in Columbus, Ohio, made three saves as New York City FC held on for a 2-1 victory over the Crew in the first post-World Cup match for both sides on Wednesday.
A Nico Fernandez penalty kick in the 28th and Agustin Ojeda’s score in the 70th minute helped NYCFC (6-6-4, 22 points) to a 2-0 lead and break a nine-match winless streak (six losses, three ties) in Columbus since April 29, 2017.
Freese lost a bid for his fourth shutout of the season in the third minute of second-half stoppage time when Daniel Gazdag converted a penalty that came after a handball by Thiago Martins.
The Crew (4-8-4, 16 points) have a win and a draw in their past six matches.
Freese, who started four of five matches in the World Cup for the U.S. squad, had little to do for much of the match but was booed by the fans every time he touched the ball. He had bungled a clearance which led to Belgium’s third goal in a 4-1 defeat in the round of 16.
He didn’t have to make a save until the 48th minute when he pushed aside a shot from the left side just outside the box by Taha Habroune.
Fernandez scored his team-high 11th goal after Ojeda was fouled at the top of the box by Max Arfsten in an inauspicious return from the World Cup for the Crew’s U.S. national team midfielder.
Arfsten’s rough outing continued in the 60th minute when his yellow card for a hard challenge on Fernandez resulted in a 25-yard free kick off the bar by Fernandez.
Ojeda doubled the score thanks to teammate Talles Magno stripping the ball from Rudy Camacho at the left flag, then dribbling along the end line before finding Ojeda in the middle of the box.
The Crew played their first match since leading scorer Diego Rossi (six goals) was transferred to Liga MX’s Monterrey in early July. The attack was listless in the first 45 minutes half with just two shot attempts.
Crew defender Steven Moreira, a starter in the World Cup for Cape Verde, came off the bench in the 64th minute.
NYCFC defender James Sands started in his season debut after returning to the club from an 18-month loan to Germany’s FC St. Pauli.
–Field Level Media
