New York City Football Club suffered a disappointing defeat against Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.
Goals from Tai Baribo, Mikael Uhre, Dániel Gazdag, Jakob Glesnes, and Jesús Bueno claimed victory for the visitors, while Alonso Martínez was on the scoresheet for City in first-half stoppage time.
Here are Five Points from the game…
A Difficult Night
There’s no shying away from the fact the result was a tough one to take.
A heavy defeat at home, unfortunate costly errors, set-piece pain, and frustration in the final third… it was a challenging evening for everyone.
Facing one of the top scoring sides in the East – and a team desperate to climb back into playoff contention – City were punished for a series of mistakes and missed chances, in what turned out to be a bad day at the office all round.
With five games of the regular season to go, the Boys in Blue must dust themselves off and rally to iron out the errors – and fast.
“It's a really difficult night,” Nick Cushing admitted. “The three goals come from three moments, errors that we don't usually give, and we have to fix that – but we have to fix both ends. It’s not about defense or offense, it’s about New York, and it’s about us getting back to winning ways by tightening that screw and reacting on Saturday.”
Punished
Starting the day outside of the playoff picture, Philadelphia headed into the fixture in desperate need of three points, and were clinical in front of goal in the Bronx, netting five of their seven shots on target.
With their three top scorers Gazdag, Uhre, and Baribo on target in a ruthless first-half spell, the visitors left City with a mountain to climb at the break.
Then, with the home side chasing the game in the second period, Jim Curtin’s men dealt the killer blow, finding success through another set-piece, before Bueno completed the scoring on the counter.
Final Third Frustration
A testing night for the City backline saw Philadelphia capitalize on defensive lapses – but it proved to be an equally frustrating showing in the offensive third for the home side.
Dominant in possession (61.5%), the Boys in Blue recorded more than double the number of chances Philadelphia managed, registering a total of 26 shots in the game – with nine of those on target.
Pressing for a route back into the clash, New York found teenage Union goalkeeper Andrew Rick in fine form – and crashed two efforts off the woodwork through Keaton Parks and Maxi Moralez – but the hosts will certainly feel they could have done more to add to their tally, and will look to sharpen up quickly.
Martínez Magic
A moment of magic to spark a glimmer of hope.
Though it ultimately would not count for much, Alonso Martínez’s fine finish in first-half stoppage-time was of course, the highlight of the evening for the City Boys.
Meeting Kevin O’Toole’s pinpoint cross, the Costa Rican adjusted his body to direct the delivery into the ground and past Rick to give the hosts a lifeline. It was a very well-taken goal, and another demonstration of the striker’s quality.
The club’s top scorer this term now has 12 goals to his name in 21 MLS appearances, and 15 goal involvements – and will be crucial in our quest to kickstart the campaign.
Reaction Time
After a result like that, there is nothing the players and coaches want more than to set things right.
Thankfully, there is absolutely no time to dwell on the setback with one of the toughest (and most eagerly-awaited) encounters of the season looming: Saturday’s visit of Inter Miami CF.
Challenges don’t come much harder than facing the Supporters’ Shield leaders’ star-studded outfit, in what is set to be a mouth-watering duel in front of a capacity crowd.
If the Boys in Blue are to topple the best of the best in Lionel Messi and co., there will simply be no margin for error this weekend – a true test of City’s playoff credentials – and Cushing believes his side will be ready and raring to go.
“I look around the group, and there’s a group that wants to play the next game now, because [Wednesday] is so difficult,” Cushing said.
“If we were being outplayed, and if we were really on our backs against teams, I would sit here and say I’m worried about postseason – but I’ve seen enough this season, and enough within these games, that gives me complete confidence that we’ll get back to winning ways, and continue to win football matches.”
