New York City FC made it seven unbeaten in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon, outlasting Chicago Fire 2-1 at Yankee Stadium.
That hardly tells half of the story, so here are five things we learned from a dramatic clash between the Eastern Conference’s second and third-placed teams.
Superhuman Collective
Patrick Vieira told reporters that he couldn’t have asked for more from his players following this heroic performance.
Denied what looked like a clear penalty and reduced to ten men inside the opening 11 minutes, NYCFC had to dig deep to deny a Chicago Fire side who were last defeated on the road in April.
The determination and team spirit on display was breathtaking as the Boys in Blue channeled the adversity put before them into a superhuman collective effort.
Vieira’s men managed to dominate the first half in spite of their man disadvantage and finally got their just rewards with two goals inside two second half minutes from David Villa and Frederic Brillant.
A Chicago cavalry charge was expected following David Accam’s strike to make it 2-1 but NYCFC defended as a team and even looked threatening on the counter to see out this priceless hard-fought win.
A Squad Game
It’s worth remembering that Chicago were on an 11-match unbeaten run before arriving in NYC this weekend.
The ending of that streak was even more remarkable when you factor in that the Fire had the opportunity to rest while NYCFC and Toronto were slugging it out at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday and that Vieira was missing six injured first-team players.
It was a day when those who haven’t had many opportunities for minutes seized their chances and provided compelling evidence that this squad has plenty on the depth chart.
Brillant and Jonathan Lewis are two who have had to be patient in waiting for their chances to show Patrick what they can do and they certainly did just that.
French defender Brillant was rock solid in defense and provided the game-winner with one of the bravest headers you’ll ever see, while Lewis’s pace and boundless energy was a constant outlet for ten-man NYCFC, helping to stretch the game and push Chicago back.
The Rookie also provided the assist for Villa’s opening goal with his clever cut-back on what was a hugely encouraging outing for the First Round MLS SuperDraft pick.
MVP x 2?
No one characterized the work rate demonstrated more than David Villa.
We’ve come to expect stunning strikes like his volley which put NYCFC ahead but the effort he poured into the other side of the game was an inspiration to anyone tuning in to watch and is a feature of his game which isn’t talked about enough.
Whether he was pressing from the front, running back to help the defense or chasing what appeared to be lost causes, the Spanish striker was nothing less than a force of nature in that second half, producing what surely must be one of his most complete performances for NYCFC.
With temperatures pushing 90 degrees, the 35-year old rolled up his sleeves and displayed all of the traits associated with great leaders, putting himself last in service of the team.
After the game, David described it as one of the toughest games in his long and storied career and when you think about the stages he’s performed on, that really tells you just how much he put into it and how much playing for this club means to him.
With 14 goals to his name so far this season, he’s already looking like a serious contender to retain his MLS MVP crown.
Johnson Saves
Sean Johnson was a firm fans favorite at Chicago Fire before he agreed to move to NYCFC in the offseason.
He certainly showed his former supporters what they’ve been missing on Saturday, making a number of excellent saves in the second half to preserve his team’s advantage.
NYCFC tend to play on the front foot and so the team’s goalkeeper rarely gets peppered with shots but Sean was busier than usual in this one because of Yangel Herrera’s 11th minute red card.
Johnson certainly came up big, making a number of vital stops which were every bit as important as the goals scored by Brillant and Villa.
Big Call
Everyone knows that refereeing at the top level is a difficult job.
With only one opportunity to make the right call in a game which gets speedier every single year, human error is inevitable but that certainly doesn’t make it any easier to swallow for fans when a big decision goes against their team.
Replays seemed to indicate that Kepplehof got none of the ball when he slid to try to stop Herrera’s charge into the area but fortunately, on this occasion, the call wasn’t decisive in the destination of the three points.
For fans of video technology in soccer, August 5 and the league-wide implementation of VAR will be welcomed with open arms as the machines rise to come to officials’ aid.
