New York City FC suffered a disappointing 3-2 defeat against New England Revolution on Saturday. The team twice rallied back, but fell to a late goal from Tommy McNamara.
Here’s Five Points from the loss against the Revs, presented by Etihad Airways…
Penalty Pain
If you read ‘Keys to the Match’ earlier this week you’ll remember we discussed the need to start quickly.
It appeared New York City FC were on course for that after Jesús Medina earned a 12th-minute penalty. The build-up for the goal owed so much to the intelligence of Taty Castellanos, with his dummy to free Medina a moment of brilliance.
Unfortunately, Castellanos couldn’t convert from the spot and Matt Turner deserves tremendous credit for that – his penalty save was not an easy one. The situation wasn’t helped when New England took the lead seemingly out of nowhere through Gustavo Bou.
NYCFC tried to find a first-half equalizer but it was clear the one-two punch of a missed penalty and New England goal took some wind out of their sails and highlighted how influential momentum can be on a game.
It wasn’t fun to be on the wrong side of things, but the team deserves credit for getting at the team top of the Eastern Conference early and not being afraid to take the game to them.
Bounce Back
The Boys in Blue are back in action midweek against Atlanta United and that gives them the perfect opportunity to put this result behind them.
The quick turnaround time is ideal in this situation as it gives City an opportunity to push the pain of Saturday’s result far away with a victory.
The visit of Atlanta represents a different set of challenges for Ronny Deila and his players, but if they can carry the same energy and intensity into Wednesday's game it will serve them well.
Gil Shows up Late
There’s no argument that Carles Gil is one of New England’s standout players.
NYCFC did a good job of limiting his influence; right up until the 78th minute. An assist for Jonathan Bell to make it 2-1 was built on by a big hand in the winner.
It was Gil’s pass to Tajon Buchanan that sliced open the NYCFC defence and allowed the Canadian to find Tommy McNamara in the penalty box. The Revs success on Saturday was about efficiency in the final third and that was typified by their playmaker.
Instant Impact
Thiago Andrade had himself quite the Saturday night under the lights.
His first touch in an NYCFC jersey was a mishit shot that spun wide of the goal, but he didn’t let that play on his mind.
The next time the ball came to him in the penalty box he brought it down with a good first touch followed by a precise finish that got NYCFC back into the game.
He almost notched a second late in the game, with Ismael Tajouri-Shradi’s goal coming after a shot from Thiago was saved by Turner.
Overall, the forward had a strong MLS debut. He brought energy and pace to the final third, and you could see it unsettle the New England defensive line.
That youthful exuberance will serve the team well going forward, and Thiago’s skillset certainly offers Ronny Deila something a little bit different in the final third.
“Thiago was very positive coming on for Talles... he had a big influence in the game,” Deila said afterwards.
Turner Stands on His Head
It’s not always fun, but sometimes you must acknowledge when an opposition player plays well.
Matt Turner was in fine form on Saturday evening, and NYCFC had the chances to prove it. Whether it was the early penalty, or Taty Castellanos’ follow-up chance in the 21st minute, the shot-stopper was a major factor in New England’s victory.
If we look at the expected goals for the game we see City registered an xG of 3.3 compared to New England’s 1.7.
While that may be of little comfort in the cold light of day it shows the team are creating high-quality chances, and also can feel a tad hard done by to leave without a point.
In simple terms, Ronny Deila’s side is playing good soccer, creating high quality chances, and not giving up much defensively. The result didn’t reflect that last night, and the hope now is that the data and the results start to align more closely.
Next up for New York City FC is a meeting with Atlanta United on Wednesday, June 23, at Red Bull Arena with kickoff taking place at 7:30PM ET (YES Network/NYCFC.com/Radio).
