This New York City FC season comes down to a decisive Game 3 at TQL Stadium to decide the best-of-three Round One MLS Cup Playoffs series with FC Cincinnati.
Each team held serve at their home stadium in the opening two matches and it's now back to Ohio to decide who will host New York Red Bulls, who already advanced after beating Columbus Crew last week. One team will end their season tonight; the other will advance to play in the Eastern Conference Semifinal on November 23 or 24.
• Round One, Game 3: FC Cincinnati vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Saturday, November 9, 4 pm ET
• Venue: TQL Stadium
• Forecast: Overcast, dry, and not too chilly, 61 F/16 C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Tyler Terens and Kyndra de St. Aubin (English), Oscar Salazar and Jaime Mascías (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: MLS Referee of the Year Drew Fischer (referee), Logan Brown and Michael Barwegen (assistant referees), Pierre-Luc Lauziere (fourth official), Kevin Stott (VAR), Tom Supple (assistant VAR)
• Kits: Same as in Game 1 and Game 2, New York City will wear the sky blue Interboro Kit; Cincinnati will be in the dark blue River Kit
Not only is this the third matchup between the two sides, it's the sixth game between them this year. Does familiarity breed, well, familiarity? Yes, according to NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing. "I think now tactics play a very small part in the game because you know each other very, very well," he said in the pregame press conference."It's now a playoff game for us. This is more like playoff football that I know since 2020. You win and you go through, you lose and you're out."
Oliver Strand
New York City vs Cincinnati H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 36 | 26 | 10 |
These two teams have already faced each other five times this year, with three of those matches taking place at TQL Stadium. Cincinnati won all three of those games, while NYCFC won the two that were played in New York City. Home advantage in the rivalry this year is real.
2024 New York City vs Cincinnati H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 |
And home has been good to Cincinnati when hosting New York City: NYCFC are a dismal 1W-1D-5L in all games at TQL Stadium, where they were shut out four times. NYCFC's lone win took place back on September 18, 2021, when Taty Castellanos and Keaton Parks scored to overcome an early Cincinnati goal — and FCC were shown two late red card cards in what became a testy game.
But New York City knew they would need to find a way to win at TQL Stadium if they are to advance: That's the nature of a best-of-three matchup when you're the lower seed. They almost did it in Game 1, when Cincinnati were the better team. Can New York City outplay the hosts tonight, and extend their season by at least another 14 days? (Thank you, international break.)
Andrew Leigh
New York City
• Player Availability: Malachi Jones remains out. Tayvon Gray is back after serving a one-game suspension for earning a red card in Game 1.
• James Sands has two yellow cards in two games: One more and he'll sit out the Eastern Conference Semifinal should NYCFC advance. Know what? The Guy from Rye is OK with that:
From today’s #NYCFC vs #FCC pregame presser: James Sands on if he’s worried about picking up a 3rd yellow card and missing the next round should New York City advance
— Hudson River Blue (@hudsonriverblue.bsky.social) 2024-11-07T22:43:38.749Z
• Will head coach Nick Cushing start Justin Haak? The Brooklyn native was a rock in the defensive line at Citi Field, where he held his own against Cininatti's towering attack.
• Alonso Martínez rediscovered his touch last Saturday after being held scoreless in the two previous games. The striker we call El Clíncio now has 17 goals in 18 Major League Soccer appearances.
Oliver Strand
Cincinnati
• Player Availability: Goalkeeper Alec Kann (hip), central defender Nick Hagglund (leg), and central defender Matt Miazga (knee) are out. The injury list is unchanged from Games 1 and 2.
• Will head coach Pat Noonan tinker with the lineup? He didn't field the same Starting XI twice for the entire regular season, but he seemed to find his best starters in a Decision Day win over Philadelphia Union, and played the same 11 for three games in a row.
• Want to learn more about Cincinnati? Be sure to read "Oppo Research: 5 Things about FC Cincinnati." It's our third Oppo in a row with Laurel Pfahler of Queen City Press (we're sticking with our starting lineup), and her insight into the vibes and tactics at FCC is invaluable.
Matthew Mangam
