Alonso Martinez outstretched defender Josh Bauer while falling to the ground and scored the tiebreaking goal in the 77th minute as New York City FC withstood a lengthy weather delay and earned a 2-1 victory over visiting Nashville SC on Sunday.
NYCFC (12-8-5, 41 points) ran its unbeaten streak in league games to four (3-0-1) and got another big goal from Martinez, who notched the game-winner and a hat trick in its 4-3 road victory at FC Dallas on July 25.
Martinez scored his fifth goal in the past four games when he cut through the middle of the box and stretched past Bauer to convert a pass from Agustin Ojeda. Martinez scored his latest goal after hitting the crossbar five minutes earlier.
Andres Perea scored in the 40th minute and seconds before inclement weather resulted in the delay.
Jacob Shaffelburg scored in the 10th minute, but Nashville (14-8-5, 47 points) dropped its third straight after going 9-1-4 in its previous 14 MLS contests. Nashville remained in third place in the Eastern Conference, trailing Philadelphia by four points and Cincinnati by five.
NYCFC goalie Matt Freese stopped three shots as Nashville finished with 12 shots, four on target. Freese protected the lead by denying Bauer’s header in the 83rd and Perea blocked a shot by Hany Mukhtar six minutes later.
Nashville’s Joe Willis made two saves.
After Sam Surridge was denied by Freese in the opening minute, Nashville went ahead on a transition play. Mukhtar moved the ball past midfield and Shaffelburg from the center of the box sent a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner after getting by defenders Kevin O’Toole and Justin Haak.
Maxi Moralez nearly scored on a transition play in the 16th only to see Willis make a diving save. NYCFC tied in the 40th as dark clouds descended in the sky. Hannes Wolf made a move around Jack Maher and Perea sent a right-footed shot into the middle of the net after eluding Patrick Yazbek and Edvard Tagseth.
–Field Level Media
