New York City FC deliver in second half, Nashville SC packs new home stadium

Three second-half goals gave New York City FC a comfortable 3-0 win against the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.

It was a tightly contested first half as the sides split possession evenly, with 19 combined shots and six combined saves. 

City made three substitutes early in the second half, and they would pay dividends.

After Keaton Parks finally broke the deadlock in the 74th minute, 20-year-old substitute Gabriel Pereira doubled City’s advantage just four minutes later.

Another sub, Chris Gloster, put the icing on the cake in the 88th minute, with the assist coming from City’s third sub, Maximiliano Moralez.

Despite the late nature of their success, it was a deserved win for the home side, with 2.83 expected goals compared to just 0.31 for the Earthquakes.

The win keeps City in the mix with the top of the Eastern Conference, while San Jose are 13th in the Western Conference after six points from nine matches.

GP WITH THE LEFT pic.twitter.com/dXfi5F9NDf

— New York City FC (@NYCFC) May 1, 2022

It was a party atmosphere for Nashville SC as they welcomed more than 30,000 fans to their first home game at GEODIS Park – the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States or Canada.

The visiting Philadelphia Union were up for the fight, jumping ahead in the 66th minute before being forced to settle for a 1-1 draw when a late penalty allowed the hosts to equalise.

Nashville had 60 per cent possession for the contest, and may have deserved a better result as they doubled Philadelphia’s expected goals in the first half (0.85 to 0.40) and were again more potent in the second period (1.09 to 0.64).

It was Denmark’s Mikael Uhre who finally found the back of the net with his right-footed shot from near the penalty spot 66 minutes in, but the home fans would not be denied a spot kick in the 85th minute, allowing Randall Leal to make it 1-1 and share the points.

It was a strong showing for Nashville – who sit ninth in the Western Conference – to take a point off the Eastern Conference leaders, although Philadelphia have now gone three matches without a win after rattling off five victories in a row.

Nashville have now gone 544 days since their last home loss.

Home. pic.twitter.com/xuT2NvT67f

— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) May 1, 2022

A late go-ahead goal from Los Angeles FC substitute Ryan Hollingshead put his side in the driver’s seat on the way to a 2-0 home win against Minnesota.

Los Angeles opted for a more possession-based opening 45 minutes, controlling 59 per cent of the play before the break, but were only able to generate two shots on target, while Minnesota had one.

The hosts approached the second half much differently, only holding 47 per cent of the possession, but creating 16 shots to just three for Minnesota as they were much more aggressive moving forwards.

After being subbed on in the 74th minute, Hollingshead found the breakthrough nine minutes later as he scrambled in the rebound from Kellyn Acosta’s shot. Jose Cifuentes – who was subbed on in the 63rd minute – made it 2-0 in stoppage time when he tapped in Diego Palacious’ cross from the six-yard box.

With the victory, Los Angeles are now top of the Western Conference, two points ahead of Austin FC, while Minnesota will remain in sixth, missing out on an opportunity to jump up to third with a win.

“Buenas noches.” – @JoseCifu51 #LAFCvMIN pic.twitter.com/miXUEKl6RT

— LAFC (@LAFC) May 2, 2022