After falling behind 2-0 in the first leg of their semifinal matchup, New York City FC will need an incredible comeback against Toronto FC if they want to advance.
New York City FC lost the first leg of their semifinal matchup 2-0 to Toronto FC north of the border. They will now return home to attempt an improbable comeback as they look to advance to their first ever Eastern conference final. The good news is that NYCFC has the talent to pull off the unexpected.
Despite TFC’s impressive performance at home, they must now go into enemy territory to hold onto their two-goal advantage. ESPN’s SPI gives Toronto an 88% chance to qualify for the Conference Finals. With the upper hand, NYCFC will have to be aggressive early and often in order to defeat Jozy Altidore and company.
Both teams have plenty of star power like Michael Bradley and Sebastian Giovinco for TFC and David Villa, Frank Lampard, and Andrea Pirlo for New York. The odds aren’t in NYCFC’s favor but they have a lot going for them heading into the match. It will be a tough task but a two goals deficit isn’t impossible to come back from.
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David Villa Factor
New York City FC forward, David Villa, got into it with Armando Cooper of TFC in the first leg. Both players pushed and fought a bit and Villa even went as far as kicking Cooper in the back of his leg. In retrospect, he should’ve been sent off with a straight red card for the offense but he remained on the pitch.
Major League Soccer reviewed the play and didn’t suspend the Spain international for the second leg. NYCFC are lucky to have the second leading scorer in the league this season available for the game. He scored 23 goals this year and Patrick Vieira’s side will need a few from him if they hope to come back.
Andrea Pirlo’s Return
Legendary Italian midfielder, Andrea Pirlo, missed the first leg with a calf injury. If he is available for New York in the second leg, it would be huge for their squad. He brings a veteran presence into the center of the field and his pinpoint passing can pick out runs with ease. NYCFC need his playmaking ability to break open Toronto’s defense.
The Unpredictability of Yankee Stadium
Fans, experts, and players have complained about New York City’s home field. Yankee Stadium is not a suitable venue for soccer games to take place but the familiarity NYCFC have with the pitch could give them a decisive advantage. The unpredictable nature of the field size could give TFC trouble. TFC were only 6W-6L-5D on the road while NYCFC were 8W-3L-6D at home but the lone game between the two sides at Yankee Stadium was a 2-2 draw in the second weed of the season.
Toronto FC has yet to lose to New York City FC this season as they are 1W-0L-1D in their two matches. NYCFC have a tumultuous task as they will need to attack heavy and score at least two goals while holding TFC’s offensive firepower scoreless. But maybe, just maybe, New York City has enough to do the improbable. It may be unlikely but they surely have the talent to do so along with a few other factors (listed above) on their side.
In my opinion, I think they will fall shot in their comeback efforts because Toronto are too talented going forward but it woudln’t surprsise me if TFC bottled this one and NYCFC advanced to the Confernce Finals instead.