New York City FC finally secures a vital road win
New York City FC faced FC Cincinnati over the weekend, and finally won their third road match of the year
The last time New York City FC saw FC Cincinnati, the boys in Bronx blue demolished them in a 5-0 win. Now, months later, NYCFC looked to beat the second to last place team in the Eastern Conference for the second time in 2021. This time, the Pigeons were visiting them in Ohio, and road matches have been challenging this season.
Plus, after a disappointing draw from midweek, NYCFC desperately needed to find themselves back in the win column. At this point, the team is now fighting for a top four finish in the East, and must grab the three points against teams toward the bottom of the table.
Despite giving up an early goal, the Pigeons were able to come back and win. Although the 2-1 final score was not the usual goal extravaganza against Cincinnati, the team still managed to win for the sixth time against the side. More importantly, the team won their first road match since May 29, and finally have their third road win.
After Cincinnati’s Brenner scored a 4th minute goal, which was due to a poor clearance from Maxime Chanot, New York City FC controlled the majority of the fixture. The team remained a constant threat for their opponents, and finally capitalized later on in the first half.
In the 37th minute, Gudmundur Thórarinsson provided one of his many crosses into the box. A few players were open, but he passed the ball directly to Keaton Parks. The tall midfielder immediately made contact with the ball, and headed it toward the lower right corner of goal. Cincinnati’s goalkeeper, Przemysław Tytoń, attempted to make the save, but was not fast enough. Parks leveled the score for NYCFC, and brought them back into the match.
Afterwards in the second half, Valentín Castellanos added to his goal total for the season, scoring his 12th regular season goal on a penalty kick in the 60th minute. From there, the Pigeons were able to hold on and secure the win.
Still, it was not pretty, nor was this their best game by any means. Rather, the team had many defensive blunders, and were fortunate the opposition could not capitalize. Cincinnati had multiple missed chances, and even had a goal called off because it was offside. While NYCFC was a threat, this win could have easily been a loss if the home side would have scored the clear shot goals. In some ways, this win was luck.
Furthermore, Cincinnati was a mess, and the Pigeons should have scored another goal or two at the minimum. But they too failed to capitalize on many chances, and to the credit of the home side, the Orange and Blue did limit their chances at some points. But instead of defensive issues, the lack of discipline for Cincinnati led NYCFC to the win, for the winning goal came from the penalty kick.
Additionally, the referee poorly managed the game, and this was seen late in the second half. Two Cincinnati players received red cards after poor fouls, and this was avoidable if the referee would have gotten a hold on the frustration building amongst the home side. He did not have a handle on the game, and NYCFC were lucky to avoid injury after some of these violent tackles.
In the end, New York City FC must not settle, and should recognize there were a lot of problems with this fixture. Yet, luck was on their side this time around, and they finally got a win on the road. It was messy, but hopefully this will build confidence toward playing better road matches.
Ronny Deila needs to start Chanot and Callens
In the last four games, Maxime Chanot and Alexander Callens have not started with one another. Notably a strong center-back pairing, the two defenders have been vital in the backline for New York City FC in the past few seasons, especially this year. In these four fixtures, NYCFC lost twice, drew once, won once, and gave up nine goals. For one of the best defenses in the league, this clearly shows that Callens and Chanot need to start with one another.
Before continuing, some fans may argue Chanot is not playing his best season, which is something that is agreeable. He has made a few more mistakes this year, including against Cincinnati. But at the same time, he is still an important part of the NYCFC defense, and has made critical clearances and interceptions all year long. To add, after the early mistake, he was mostly on point for the rest of the game. So, yes, Chanot and Callens still should be the mainstay center-backs.
In the match against Nashville SC, neither was available due to international duty, and then against the New England Revolution, Callens was not available due to playing two days earlier. So, when Chanot did not start against FC Dallas, at first one would think Ronny Deila was resting the 31 year old.
However, Deila did not start Callens against FC Cincinnati, and once again the defense struggled. It is unknown whether this was a coaching decision or due to health, and instead Deila put James Sands as the other center-back.
This is problematic for two reasons. Firstly, Chanot and Callens often play well together and are on the same page. Since they have last started together, NYCFC has been poor in the defense, and gave up those nine goals. There is this chemistry that the two have, and they should be starting together as much as possible.
Secondly, Sands has not been playing his best, which is bound to happen here and there for a young player. He has been a little rusty as a center-back, and needs to gain his confidence back after USMNT fans obliterated him for his performance with the national team. Hence, Deila should have had him playing next to Parks, for the two Americans tend to play well together in the defensive midfield.
Once more, NYCFC’s head coach is under fire with his roster choices, and rightfully so. To give the benefit of the doubt, maybe Callens needed to be rested before the Hudson River Derby week. Maybe he had a small knock in training, and could not start. Nonetheless, every effort should be made to keep Callens and Chanot together.
Alas, despite the fact the two center-backs did not start with one another, New York City FC got the win. Now, it is time to prepare for the two matches against the New York Red Bulls. The Hudson River Derby week should be a fun and entertaining one.