Alonso Martínez, Matt Freese lead NYCFC to 1-0 victory over Union

NEW YORK (AP) — Alonso Martínez scored early in the second half for New York City FC and Matt Freese made it stand up for a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia at Citi Field on Saturday night in the Union’s first match without Dániel Gazdag.

Martínez used an assist from 20-year-old defender Mitja Ilenic in the 55th minute to score for the fifth time this season. Martínez scored 16 goals in 26 appearances last year in his first full season in the league. Ilenic notched his first helper of the campaign and the third of his career in his third season with NYCFC (3-3-2).

Philadelphia (4-3-1) couldn’t get anything going after sending Gazdag — the Union’s all-time goal scorer — to the Columbus Crew in a $4-million cash-for-player deal on Friday with performance-based incentives that could add another $500,000. Gazdag scored a club-record 59 goals in 125 appearances since 2021. He set the Union’s single-season record with 22 goals in 2022, finishing one behind Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar for the Golden Boot Award.

Freese finished with two saves on the way to his second shutout in eight starts this season for NYCFC.

Teenager Andrew Rick made his first start this season for the Union. The 19-year-old allowed 12 goals in six starts last season in his debut. Rick had his only save in a scoreless first half.