New York City FC needed penalties to beat Mexican side Querétaro in the opening game of their League Cups campaign after a dour group game finished 0-0 at Yankee Stadium.
Goalkeeper Luis Barraza, making his first appearance of the season, made the decisive save in a 4-3 shootout win following a game that is unlikely to live long in the memory.
NYCFC came into their Leagues Cup opener as hot favorites against a Querétaro side that sits bottom of Liga MX after losing each of their four opening games of the season.
However, New York produced a largely insipid display that is unlikely to ease concerns following a run of four MLS games without a win.
NYCFC survived an early scare when Jonathan Perlaza’s speculative long-range freekick caught Barraza out but came crashing back off the upright after six minutes.
That was about as good as it got as far as Querétaro was concerned, with NYCFC taking control of proceedings despite lacking a killer touch in front of goal.
NYCFC spurned a golden opportunity to take the lead midway through the first half when Christian McFarlane saw his close-range header saved by Guillermo Allison after the left-back had been picked out with a delightful clipped ball from Maxi Moralez.
Moralez, starting in place of the injured Santi Rodriguez, almost unlocked the Querétaro defense with two minutes remaining in the opening period when he flashed a drive across the face of goal and into the path of Julian Fernandez, who could only blaze wide with the goal at his mercy.
An otherwise forgettable first half concluded with a moment of high drama when Moralez clipped a ball over the top for Mounsef Bakrar, who shrugged off a challenge from Rio Martin as he bore down on goal, only to see his effort well smothered by Allison.
In the ensuing chaos, Perlaza appeared to handle the ball in the area after Moralez rose highest to meet a Bakrar cross.
The subsequent VAR check lasted more than five minutes before referee Keylor Herrera Villalobos ruled against awarding a penalty.
Chances were few and far between in the opening half, with Querétaro setting out to frustrate the hosts and consistently packing 11 players behind the ball on the edge of their own penalty area.
If NYCFC had struggled to create chances in the opening period, it was nothing compared to their struggles in the second half.
The home side won corner after corner that was easily dealt with by the Querétaro defense and struggled to create any openings from open play.
It was only the 70th-minute introduction of Alonso Martinez that appeared to give NYCFC any momentum up front.
The Costa Rican striker forced Allison into a decent save from a long-range drive with 15 minutes remaining and was inches away from finding a late winner when he curled an 87th-minute effort narrowly wide of the left-hand post.
That was as close as NYCFC would come to a winner in 90 minutes, with penalties required to separate the two sides.
Querétaro blinked first in the shootout when captain Kevin Escamilla fired an effort against the crossbar after sending Barraza the wrong way.
Jovan Mijatovic made no mistake to put NYCFC 4-3 ahead before Barraza guessed right to deny Cisneros and hand NYCFC a hugely important win in the context of their Leagues Cup group.
NYCFC now stands on two points in Group L ahead of a meeting with Cincinnati at TQL Stadium on Monday, August 5. Querétaro, who sits on one point, travels to Cincinnati on Thursday. The top two from the group will advance to the Round of 32.
NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing said Sunday’s penalty shootout victory could turn out as “pivotal” in the club’s Leagues Cup campaign but said the team “has to be better” in some areas.
Cushing said he was not concerned by the lack of chances that his side created on Sunday night, stating that Querétaro often packed 11 players behind the ball and were difficult to break down.
“We want to be a team that creates goal chances,” Cushing said. “We know we’re an attacking team,” he added, stating that he always strives to get numbers in the box. “But at the same time, we’ve got to look at the side we played against (Querétaro), a team that sat incredibly low with the 11 players behind the ball at times.
“They came here to try and take the game to penalties, but we have to be a team that opens them
up and gets the goals.”
