New York City FC: Defensive blunders lead to loss
New York City FC fell 3-2 to the New England Revolution after some defensive blunders and Matt Turner
After a three week international break, New York City FC was finally back in action at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. The Pigeons had a big match ahead of them against the first place New England Revolution, and were looking to upset the Eastern Conference leaders. In the end, the team fell 3-2 after a thrilling, but heartbreaking match. Lapses in the defense, and fantastic goalkeeping by New England’s Matt Turner, led to the defeat.
Once again, the Pigeons were first neutralized by a thrilling goal. In the 27th minute, Gustavo Bou had the ball fall to him. With one touch, the Argentine volleyed the ball past Sean Johnson to put the away side up by one. The speed and power of the goal is one that is difficult to stop, and Johnson also had players in front of him, limiting his ability to see the ball for a split moment. It was another unfortunate goal that NYCFC let through, and again, another impressive one from an opposing side.
However, in the second half, it was the other two goals by New England that truly hurt NYCFC from grabbing any points. Both times, the defense turned off, and Johnson was left without help. With the first defensive blunder, no one was marking Jonathan Bell, who easily headed the ball into the back of the net. They let the Revolution players line up with them too close to goal, and failed to mark multiple players.
Then, it was the second goal in the second half that led New England to the win. NYCFC were set up inadequately in the defense when Tajon Buchanan made a perfect run on the left side of the pitch. He followed up with a sweeping pass to former fan favorite Tommy McNamara, who tapped in the winning goal in the 88th minute.
Truthfully, the defensive line played well throughout the match, but these mistakes proved to be costly. Yet, Turner had himself a game, and kept New England in the match where they could win. He had seven saves on the night, including a penalty kick save. In the 12th minute, a late tackle on Jesús Medina in the box awarded the penalty kick. Valentín Castellanos stepped up to take the shot, but Turner, who was a brick wall all night, made the stop.
Castellanos also had another solid chance in the 21st minute. Maxi Moralez made an accurate pass to his compatriot, and the forward struck the ball hard toward goal. But Turner was able to make the save, and when Castellanos attempted to bring the ball down and try again, a handball was called. The young Argentine had the best chances during the first half, but unfortunately could not capitalize and grab a goal for New York City.
Later on in the second half, Moralez had his own chance to try and level the game at three apiece. With no one in front of him, but yet a little wide on goal, Moralez made a killer shot where Turner had to reach out and make a hard stop. Without Turner, that ball might have gone in. But he did enough, as he did throughout the night. So, between the New England goalkeeper, and then the defensive blunders, NYCFC fell short.
There were some positives for New York City FC…
Despite the loss, New York City FC had predominantly a good game. Yes, there were some missed opportunities, but they could have won the game if not for the defensive errors. So, it is important to look at the positives in the match.
To begin, Talles Magno made his first start for the club. While his performance was not great, it was not poor either. He clearly put in the trying effort, but Ronny Deila might have rolled the dice a little too early with him. Nonetheless, his performance was expected since he is returning from injury, and is not at 100% fitness. Hence, that is probably why Thiago Andrade came on for his debut at the half, and Magno came off.
And what a debut it was! In the 55th minute, Anton Tinnerholm passed the ball to Moralez, who was in the left side of the box. The Argentine saw Thiago was open, and quickly passed to him. The Brazilian got ball under control within a second, and kicked it toward goal. The ball ended up hitting the post and shifted into the goal, securing a solid debut for the young midfielder. Thiago continued to attack throughout the rest of the half as well, and already looks like he could start in the next game.
Additionally, Moralez showed glimpses of his usual talented self. He created numerous chances, including the huge chance from Castellanos in the first half, and then the goal from Thiago, where he got his assist. His passes were also on point during critical moments, and he seemed to be more at match fitness. Moralez also had three shots, with two on goal, so not only did he create chances for others, but took his own too.
Plus, NYCFC ended the night with slightly more of the possession. Excluding those two New England goals, they were clearly the better side, and had more chances. If not for the likes of Turner, then they easily could have claimed at least a point. And they almost did when Ismael Tajouri-Shradi scored in the 85th minute.
Alas, sometimes it is not about the performance, but who scores the most goals. And this time around, New York City FCwas not on the winning side. But while the team left the night with zero points, the quality of their play, and the newer additions, show promise and potential. Maybe, this side is capable of finishing toward the top of the table this season. If they polish up the mistakes, then the rest of the league better watch out: New York City FC is here to play.