New York City FC fell to CF Montréal after poor match
New York City FC fell 2-1 to CF Montréal in what was their worst match of the season
Before Wednesday, New York City FC had only lost once to CF Montréal, formerly known as the Montréal Impact, and that was back in 2015. Since then, they have been unbeaten against the Canadian side. Now, due to COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, the game took place in Orlando, a city that has not been kind to the Pigeons. Plus, NYCFC were without Sean Johnson and James Sands due to international duty. Alexander Callens, who had been out for international duty as well, will not return to the team until next week.
So, with critical players not available, the Pigeons looked to their depth to get a win against Montréal. But poor play, and poor game management from Ronny Deila, led NYCFC to a 2-1 loss.
The only goal for New York City FC came from Keaton Parks in the 29th minute. Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, who had a fantastic match despite the end result, maneuvered his way around defender Zorhan Bassong in the right side of the box. He then made the pass toward the center, and the ball hit off a Montréal player. While luck played into the goal, Parks was at the right place at the right time. The ball fell to him, and he immediately put his side up 1-0.
Of course, that lead did not last too long. Just before the end of the first half, a Mason Toye penalty kick drew the two teams level. Afterward, as everyone knows, poor defending led to an easy goal from Romell Quioto in the second half. That goal would ultimately lead Montréal to the win. As a result, NYCFC had their first loss against the side since 2015.
In complete honesty, the match was somewhat dull and lackluster for NYCFC. The team did not have the same energy they had during the comeback win against D.C. United. They played at a slow pace and tempo, which one could argue was due to the heat and humid conditions, and later on, the rain. But that is not an excuse, and the Pigeons just did not play to the best of their abilities.
Additionally, Valentín Castellanos’ goalless streak now stands at seven games. The forward continued with his struggles in Wednesday’s game, and did not contribute in the final third. He was lost on the pitch, and frustration consumed him. The Argentine also took chances he should not have taken, and truly had a poor game overall.
Meanwhile, Malte Amundsen was another player who had an inadequate match. Defensively, he was not strong, and had way too many miscommunications with his teammates. He gave up the ball often, and then was missing offensively. He did not provide service up the field, and was not a threat in the attack at all. While the second half showed improvement, this game proved that Gudmundur Thórarinsson should be the starter going forward. In his brief time on the pitch, the Icelandic international was night and day compared to his fellow left-back.
Poor game management contributed to the loss
Unfortunately, Deila brought Thórarinsson on too late, as he did with all of the substitutions. Clearly, New York City FC was not playing well, so why did Deila fail to make changes earlier in the second half? Thiago only came on in the 72nd minute, and the other changes came on the pitch in the 81st. There was not enough time for the substitutions to make a difference, even though they did change the team’s pace and threat in the attack.
While Deila has been better this year than expected, Wednesday night’s match was awfully managed. His team was poor, yet he refused to make a change to better his side in a timely manner. Yes, it is good to give players a chance to find success. However, this game screamed that a change had to be made at halftime, or early on in the second half.
Furthermore, Deila’s first substitution was Thiago, who has been a star and likely should have started against Montréal. But he brought off Sebastien Ibeagha, which led Alfredo Morales to move to a center-back role. That move led to troubles defensively, and Morales struggled in the position. He could not run back defensively the way a center-back should. Also, his struggles led to a break-down in the defense, which led to the second goal for the team’s opponent.
There is no easier way to say this: NYCFC played their worst game of the season. Their poor play was unacceptable, and utterly embarrassing. Yes, Deila’s choice of the Starting XI, and then his inability to make changes early on, contributed to the loss. But the team did not step up, and while unlikely to be true, played as if they did not have a drive to win.
Sadly, there is nothing positive to say about the team overall. New York City FC did not show up against a side where they were expected to get a point at a minimum.
A worrying performance from NYCFC for sure.