And one goal — in stoppage time, when it was all over. Charlotte scored twice. And won. Without Martínez, this is exactly the kind of match NYCFC will be losing in 2026 if they don’t find someone who can put the ball in the net.
What happened on the field
The match started intensely — Charlotte received a yellow card in the third minute, NYCFC in the seventeenth. The first half was goalless, even though the hosts were already dominating. The breakthrough came in the 54th minute — shortly after a substitution in the Charlotte team — Charlotte scored to make it 0:1. Tyger Smalls, Kerwin Vargas, Archie Goodwin — fresh legs on the field made a difference for a team that defended with a full squad for most of the match.
Coach Pascal Jansen made substitutions — Kevin Pierre, Jonathan Shore, Seymour Reid. But the ball kept bouncing off the post, goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina (six effective saves), and Charlotte’s defense in the persons of Tim Ream and Harry Toffolo. In the 90th minute, Charlotte finished off the hosts to make it 0:2. Only in deep stoppage time did NYCFC score a consolation goal to make it 1:2.
Numbers that hurt
Twenty shots in a match is the result of a team that should win. Eight shots on target is a result that, in normal circumstances, yields at least 2 goals. Six corner kicks, three offside positions, 64% possession — NYCFC played like the home team. And they played effectively in every phase of the match except the last one — in front of the goal.
Charlotte had six shots, three of which were on target. From three shots on target — two goals. Such effectiveness is not just luck. It’s also Zaha and Biel, who in Charlotte know what to do with the ball in the penalty area.
Balance after eight rounds
Three wins, two draws, three losses. Nine points. NYCFC is falling in the Eastern Conference standings — their position will only become clear after Sunday’s matches, but they will likely drop from fourth to sixth or seventh place. And ahead of them on Wednesday is a match against FC Cincinnati at Citi Field — Cincinnati is one of the best teams in the league. NYCFC’s probability of winning according to MLS models: 52%.
Then Montreal away, DC United, LAFC, and Columbus. Six matches in three weeks. And still without Martínez, who is still in rehabilitation and will return no earlier than September.
What this means
It means that the 2026 season for NYCFC is exactly as feared in February when Martínez left the locker room on crutches. The team plays well, controls the ball, creates chances — but lacks that one guy who can score under pressure. Nicolás Fernández, Agustín Ojeda, Hannes Wolf — each of them is a good player. None of them is Martínez.
Jansen has a problem that cannot be solved by tactics or substitutions. You can lose this way for a month and still be in the playoff race. You can lose this way for four months and fall out of contention for 8th place. NYCFC is currently on a thin line.
Maxi Moralez, the captain who returned from Argentina to finish his career in New York, played the full 90 minutes again today. Thirty-nine years old, still running like a twenty-year-old, still distributing balls in midfield. He deserves for the season not to fall apart. But in MLS, there are no concessions — points are earned by those who score.
On Wednesday, Cincinnati. A new chance to forget about Saturday. But most likely — another toughest test this spring.
What awaits NYCFC on Wednesday: Cincinnati, Acosta, and the “false nine” trap
FC Cincinnati arrives at Citi Field on Wednesday, April 22, in a form that NYCFC has not seen from an opponent in a long time. Four wins and a draw in their last five matches. Eastern Conference leader. Miles Robinson’s defense is currently the most disciplined unit in the East — and this is not a team that will wait for NYCFC to get going. Cincinnati can win matches where they have 6 shots. Two of which go in.
Statistically, NYCFC is the paradox of the season. One of the top teams in the league in terms of Expected Goals (xG) — and one of the last in terms of actual effectiveness. This is not a team that doesn’t create. It’s a team that creates situations, taps the ball around the penalty area — and can’t put it in the net. The MLS model gives NYCFC a 52% chance of winning on Wednesday. Optimistic — because the advantage of Citi Field is factored in.
A treat for fans: Moralez vs Acosta
In midfield, two Argentine “tens” will clash — Maxi Moralez (39 years old), the heart of NYCFC, who created four scoring chances in Saturday’s match against Charlotte (and none of them ended in a goal because there was no one to put it in), and Luciano Acosta (31 years old), Cincinnati’s leader and the main candidate for the 2026 season MVP title. If NYCFC leaves Acosta as much space in midfield as they left Charlotte players on Saturday, NYCFC will see Acosta’s assists in the first half. Without needing to watch the second.
Form and strengths
In NYCFC’s last five matches: loss, draw, win, draw, loss. Cincinnati in the same period: four wins and a draw. NYCFC’s strength is ball possession and creation. Cincinnati’s strength is deadly counter-attacks and set pieces. The mood in the Citi Field locker room is frustration after the loss to Charlotte. In the Cincinnati locker room — the confidence of a leader.
Jansen’s tactical risk
If Jansen comes out on Wednesday with the same formation as against Charlotte — with Fernández as a “false nine” — we will probably see another head-banging-against-the-wall scenario. Cincinnati is not Charlotte. They won’t just defend. They will take control if they sense any weakness from the hosts. The key might be risk: starting the young Jonathan Shore from the first minute to add an element of unpredictability that the schematic NYCFC currently lacks. Or boldly playing two strikers simultaneously — Fernández and Ojeda — and accepting that the midfield will lose depth.
Another loss on Wednesday will likely push NYCFC down to eighth or ninth place. And the schedule in the next two weeks — Montreal, DC United, LAFC — will then start to look not like a match calendar, but like a list of obstacles before a crisis. Jansen must change something. Or wait for “something to finally go in.” That second scenario didn’t work last week.
Editorial Staff, Voice of Polonia in the USA
NYCFC 1:2 Charlotte FC | April 18, 2026, Citi Field | Goals: Charlotte 54′, 90′ | NYCFC 90+ | Shots: 20-6 | On target: 8-3 | Possession: 64%-36% | NYCFC Record: 3-2-3, 9 pts | Next match: FC Cincinnati, Wednesday, April 22, 7:30 PM, Citi Field
Read also: Why NYCFC plays without its best scorer
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