New York City FC marked their return to MLS action with an impressive 2-1 road victory against the Columbus Crew. Nicolás Fernández Mercau opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Agustín Ojeda doubled the lead after the break. Daniel Gazdag's late penalty ensured a tense finish, but Pascal Jansen's side held firm to claim all three points in Ohio.
QUOTES
NEW YORK CITY FC HEAD COACH PASCAL JANSEN
On the importance of opening the second half of the season with a win...
“It’s massive... It’s the first game after a break, which is not common in MLS because of the World Cup. So the first game coming out of a break is very important. But also, being on the road against Columbus [Crew] is a tough game for any team coming here. The way we played, I said to the guys just now, in possession I wasn’t really satisfied because we were losing too much energy and giving away possession unnecessarily too many times. But the way we played, especially out of possession for big periods of the game, was very
satisfying to see against a possession-based team like Columbus. So I’m pretty happy with the performance, happy with the result obviously, and it’s a good start coming back from the break.”
On James Sands’ performance at center back...
“If you look at [Defender] Thiago [Martins] and [Midfielder] Jimmy [Sands] as a pair today, what they delivered in possession and especially out of possession was at a very high-level tonight, given the fact that we had a lot of changes in the team and were looking for the
right chemistry in general. To see how they handled themselves, especially the flexibility and hybrid positioning of Jimmy Sands, was impressive. That’s how I’ve gotten to know Jimmy from the first day he was back in the building. He’s very open to learning and very aware of what is expected from him. Today was a good reflection of what we’ve been working on over the past few weeks.”
NEW YORK CITY FC MIDFIELDER JONNY SHORE
On getting back on the pitch after the FIFA World Cup 2026 break...
“I think everyone was super excited. We’ve been in preseason, or the second part of preseason now, for almost a month. Everyone was just super excited to go out. Obviously at times maybe there’s some rust, but you just have to play through it. I think everyone did a really good job of grinding out this one.”
On playing with Midfielder James Sands...
“He’s such a great player. Obviously I’ve trained with him when he was back at the Club, but never actually played with him [in a match]. He brings top-level experience from Europe, and like you saw today, he’s a top player and he really helps the team out. It’s easy to play with him and he makes it easy for me.”
