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New York City FC Closes Coachella Valley Invitational with Win over Minnesota United

February 15, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New York City FC News Release


New York City FC rounded out their participation in the Coachella Valley Invitational with a game against Minnesota United FC on Saturday afternoon.

Head Coach Pascal Jansen named a strong starting XI for the game, with youngsters Nicholas Cavallo and Jonathan Shore also handed starts. Elsewhere, Keaton Parks wore the captain's armband for the second time in preseason.

A frantic start to the game saw Minnesota register the first shot on target in the seventh minute-Carlos Harvey forced a good save low to the right from Matt Freese.

Jansen's side responded quickly, and after a clever move down the right, Bakrar clipped a cross toward the back post that looked destined for Hannes Wolf until a last-ditch header took it away from the winger.

A first-half injury to Tayvon Gray forced New York City into a change-Andrew Baiera replacing Gray at fullback in the 29th minute.

In a game of few chances, Minnesota was handed the next look at goal just after the half-hour mark.

Tani Oluwaseyi sprang the offside trap and tried to beat Freese from a narrow angle, but his effort was tipped behind for a corner.

City began mounting pressure on the Minnesota goal as halftime approached, allowing Shore to get off a shot that was deflected behind for a corner.

Shore's attempt was followed by a great opportunity for Bakrar on the stroke of halftime when a deflected cross fell into his path. Unfortunately, the striker could not keep his effort on target.

The second half began with one change for City, as Agustín Ojeda replaced Bakrar. He was later joined on the field by Julián Fernández, who replaced Wolf.

A fast break for City in the 65th minute almost led to a breakthrough, but some last-ditch defending ensured Alonso Martínez's strike landed safely in the hands of Dayne St. Clair.

In the 77th minute, City made their fourth substitution with midfielder Andrés Perea replacing Strahinja Tanasijević.

City took the lead less than 60 seconds later when Martínez latched onto a wonderful through ball from Birk Risa and scored.

Several half-chances followed for City, but in the end, Martínez's strike proved enough to secure a win in their final preseason outing.

New York City FC XI: Freese, Gray, Risa, Tanasijević (Perea), Cavallo, Shore, Parks, Haak, Bakrar (Ojeda), Wolf (Fernández), Martínez.

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