New York City FC (NYCFC) recorded a vital 3-1 win over Nashville at Red Bull Arena on Sunday afternoon to keep their hopes alive of securing a seeded place in the MLS Cup.
A brace from Santiago Rodriguez, coupled with a tap-in from Alonso Martinez, gave the home side an unassailable 3-0 lead after just 21 minutes.
Hany Mukhtar pulled a goal back for the visitors just before the hour mark with a measured curling effort from outside the area, but NYCFC survived an onslaught of late chances to secure their third consecutive victory.
The result leaves NYCFC two points behind Orlando in the race for fourth place ahead of Decision Day in two weeks’ time, with the top four sides in each conference granted a seeded position – and an extra home game – during the MLS Cup.
Nick Cushing’s side must now win at Montreal and hope that Orlando fails to beat Atlanta at home on the final day of the regular season, with both Montreal and Atlanta vying for a wildcard place in the upcoming playoffs.
NYCFC’s failure to build on that early three-goal lead could prove costly, with goal differential set to prove a factor on Decision Day in the event of an Orlando draw and an NYCFC victory. Orlando currently leads NYCFC by three goals, meaning Cushing’s side will have to win by four.
The hosts wasted no time taking the lead during Sunday’s afternoon kick-off, which was delayed due to a security threat at Red Bull Arena, hitting the front after just 20 seconds when Rodriguez fired past Joe Willis from close range after collecting his own rebound.
Nashville responded well to that early hammer blow and should have equalized after eight minutes when Mukhtar blazed over from eight yards out with the goal at his mercy.
Alex Muyl was inches away from drawing the away side level after 17 minutes when his exquisite curling effort from the edge of the area beat Matt Freese all ends up but agonizingly came back off the crossbar.
Within a minute, NYCFC was two goals up when Hannes Wolf ghosted into the area and drilled a ball across the face of goal for Rodriguez to tap into an empty net.
Rodriguez was at the heart of everything good about NYCFC on Sunday and was again involved in the home side’s third when his corner kick made its way through the crowded penalty to Martinez, who had the simple task of diverting the ball to the back of the net from less than a yard out.
The home side appeared to take their foot off the gas after that third goal, allowing Nashville to grow into the contest as the half wore on.
Sam Surridge should have pulled one back for the visitors on the half-hour mark when he was found in acres of space in the NYCFC penalty area after a sloppy Freese pass was intercepted deep in NYCFC territory. However, the former Nottingham Forest forward could only blaze over from close range.
Jacob Shaffelburg went even closer to pulling one back moments later when he raced onto a through ball and rounded Freese, only to see his goal-bound effort cleared off the line by Birk Risa.
The second half started as the first ended, with NYCFC playing more passively as the game wore on and Nashville wasting chance after chance.
An offside flag offered NYCFC a reprieve after Thiago Martins diverted a cross into his own net, but there was to be no reprieve when Mukhtar expertly guided a low shot past Freese from 25 yards out.
That goal sowed seeds of doubt around Red Bull Arena, with NYCFC guilty of squandering two-goal leads on several occasions this season.
A sense of unease had crept into the home side and Nashville pressed their advantage.
Walker Zimmermann missed a golden chance to set up a grandstand finish with ten minutes remaining when he somehow blazed a shot over the crossbar from close range with Freese prone on the ground following an outstanding double save.
Substitute Jonathan Alexánder Pérez Lara was guilty of missing a similar opportunity moments later when Freese spilled an effort from Mukhtar into his path. The substitute, however, could only divert the ball wide from just yards out.
Those missed opportunities allowed NYCFC to see out the remainder of the game in relative comfort and take the race for fourth to the final day of the season.
