New York City FC won their first ever game at Yankee Stadium 2-0, in front of a crowd of 45,307, as they beat a 10-man New England Revolution team, thanks to a goal and an assist from their captain and instant hero David Villa.

Villa scored one perfectly taken goal and made another for substitute Patrick Mullins as New York City gradually asserted themselves in the game – though there was still plenty for coach Jason Kreis to think about as he heads back to the training field next week.

The first half had been a mixed affair for the new team. Kreis is an excellent coach, but with the best will in the world, this is still a team very much finding its shape and there was an understandable ponderousness to their approach play at times, so that at moments it looked like a working sketch of the type of soccer Kreis wants his side to play.

The net effect was limited chances, though NYCFC should have been ahead early when Andrew Jacobson threaded a ball through the New England midfield to David Villa on the edge of the City box. Villa turned his marker and set up Adam Nemec with an inviting pass near the penalty spot, only for the big striker to hit a weak shot straight at Shuttleworth.

That sort of approach play was rare from City in the first half however, as New England began to assert control of the midfield and cut the supply lines to a frustrated looking Villa. And at the other end, they were doing everything to test a New York City defense that’s learning on the job.

Chris Tierney in particular, was causing havoc by whipped crosses to the back post from the left, and with Kelyn Rowe causing similar problems on the other flank, City spent a lot of the opening 45 looking decidedly creaky.

But a team with David Villa does not necessarily need to spend all their time on the front foot, and the Spanish international soon gave the hosts and MLS their desired iconic moment, with the team’s first goal at Yankee Stadium.

And it was a suitably Villa-esque goal, too. The forward looked to be in traffic outside the left corner of New England’s box, when he darted inside, exchanged a quick give and go with Ned Grabavoy, and lifted the ball deftly over the advancing Bobby Shuttleworth, who’d noticed the danger too late.

A huge cheer rang round the ground as Villa raced across the touchline to celebrate beside the NYCFC crest covering the Yankees home plate.

A hitherto nervous home crowd now loosened up to start chanting “Olé” as their team moved the ball around the midfield, only for the chant to catch in their throats as Mix Diskerud lost the ball sloppily in his own half.

And if the crowd were hoping to see City build on their lead in the rest of the first half, they had to settle for getting to half-time unscathed as New England, perhaps mindful of Josh Saunders’ misadventures with the Orlando goalposts last week, took every opportunity to test the New York keeper.

Saunders survived. Just. One flap at a cross saw him catch air as the ball clipped clear off his heels, though he was rather more instrumental in maintaining New York City’s lead in the 42nd minute when he saved Juan Agudelo’s diving header from close range by pawing the ball off the line at the second attempt.

Kreis had looked perturbed at what he was seeing at times in the first half, and he seemed to use the break to remind his midfielders to be more proactive, with Sebastian Velasquez in particular starting the half making more support runs, and cutting inside. New York began to reap the dividends as their pressure forced several chances early in the half, with Villa uncharacteristically profligate when given a free shot inside the box in the 49th minute.

But while NYCFC couldn’t force a goal from this dominance, they did secure a further advantage when New England went down to 10 men in the 66th minute. Khiry Shelton had just entered the game for Velasquez and instantly began causing problems with his speed and directness, as he sprinted for goal and was sent sprawling awkwardly by New England center back Jose Goncalves.

Referee Marc Geiger raced to the scene to immediately send off Goncalves and an already wilting New England began to drift further out of the game. Watching the team try to cope without Goncalves was a reminder that for all the testing they’d been doing of a new defense at the other end, their own remains a work in progress – with Andrew Farrell moved inside this year to play a position he hasn’t played since college, after the departure of AJ Soares.

New England stuck to their plan where they could, but the crosses were coming from far deeper as the game went into the final 15 minutes, and Saunders was under much less pressure, as the men in front of him began to exchange passes and look like they were enjoying the occasion, as were the home crowd.

And if there were any stray memories of what another ten man team had done to NYCFC’s lead in injury time last week, they were dispelled in the 84th minute when New York finally doubled their lead. Racing onto yet another through ball by the unsung Grabavoy, Villa did some good work down the left of the box to deceive the New England substitute defender Scott Caldwell, before sliding a perfect ball across the face of the goal. Racing onto it was Patrick Mullins, on seconds earlier for Nemec, and with the New England defense split he slid the ball home at the back post.

The New England fans chants of “Where’s Frank Lampard?” were notably quieter now, as the Bronx crowd chanted the name of Villa and another round of “Olé’s” began circling the stadium. And if that was still wishful thinking to imagine NYCFC as a well-oiled passing machine, the new team got the result they and the league office wanted on their New York debut. They’ve made their history – now for steady improvement.