June 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York City FC forward Alonso Martinez (16) brings the ball up the field against the Columbus Crew during the first half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports New York City FC have struggled on the road and will need to show an improved attack when they travel to play Austin FC on Saturday for the first meeting between the clubs.
Austin FC has been tough to beat at home, with five wins and three draws in their 10 contests this year, while New York City FC is 3-5-1 away from home in 2024.
NYCFC (11-8-2, 35 points) heads to Austin on the back of a 2-0 home win over Montreal CF on Wednesday, their second win in six days. Alonso Martinez scored both goals with assists from Hannes Wolf.
Martinez is tied with Santiago Rodriguez for the NYCFC lead with eight goals, while Rodriguez leads the team with seven assists.
“We now go to Austin with a chance to produce a performance that will give us a win,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said after Wednesday’s win. “The guys know what they have to do, but it’s about drilling and being consistent. In Austin, we have a great opportunity to (produce) the performance that we know gives us the best chance to earned.”
NYCFC hasn’t won on the road since beating New England 1-0 on May 25, losing twice since then and being kept scoreless in both games.
Saturday’s game is the first of four straight on the road for NYCFC, who sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference on the strength of seven wins in their last 10 games.
Austin FC (7-8-6, 27 points) has won just once in its last six games and picked up just four points as it falls to 10th place in the Western Conference and below the playoff line.
Austin’s most recent outing was a 2-0 loss at Sporting Kansas City on June 29, when he had just two shots and none on goal.
Both of those shots came from Jader Obrian, who is tied with Sebastian Driussi for the team lead with five goals. Austin FC’s 23 goals are the fewest among all Western Conference clubs.
“We’ve got to win,” Austin coach Josh Wolff said. “Our goal from the beginning was to be a playoff team. But we didn’t get too excited when we were doing well, and we won’t get too upset when we’re not.
“When we are at home we seem to create a lot more chances and more goals. We have to do better.”
— Field level media
