Reflecting upon a special night for NYCFC at the Orlando City Stadium…
A Reaction
Patrick Vieira spoke of his side needing to show a response following the defeat to Real Salt Lake in midweek… they did so with interest.
Orlando hadn’t been beaten at their new stadium since taking residency at the start of the campaign, embarking on a six-match unbeaten run (5W 1D) but they just couldn’t live with NYCFC on this occasion.
From the first minute, when Rodney Wallace pressed high and was backed up by David Villa to force a turnover, the boys in blue were authoritative and irrepressible, proving to be good value for the 3-0 winning margin.
Vieira remarked on the personality demonstrated by his team in his post-match press conference as particularly pleasing.
He said: “Today we came over here with a lot of personality, a lot of desire to compete and at the end we fully deserved to go back to New York with the three points.”
At Last…
In our Major Keys to the game, we examined NYCFC’s tough run of results against Orlando City.
Without a win in six attempts against the Floridians, it was high time the boys in blue took out their frustrations on their fellow 2015 Expansion Team.
On the fourth anniversary of the date NYCFC were first announced as the 20th MLS team, this was the perfect way to mark a special date in our history.
49 and Counting
We ran out of superlatives for David Villa long ago.
The Spanish striker’s numbers are getting ridiculous now – following another brace for the 35-year old, he’s now netted 49 goals for the club in 74 games.
That gives him a strike rate of 0.67 – roughly two goals every three games.
Will we be celebrating his half century in Atlanta next weekend? It doesn't feel like one to gamble against.
Lopez and Ring
Patrick Vieira had special words on the subject of Mikey Lopez following the Texan midfielder’s first start of the season.
Lopez was stepping in for Yangel Herrera who is away on international duty and Andrea Pirlo who flew back to New York with a minor knee injury. He did not disappoint.
In tandem with Alex Ring, the pair put in the hard yards to ensure that Orlando could never build up a head of steam, nor find their dangerman Cyle Larin, who could only take five touches in the first half.
In all, Mikey completed 34 of 36 passes, made three recoveries, three tackles and one interception, while Ring made a staggering 10 recoveries, as well as three tackles and an interception.
Keeping it Tight
Because we scored three goals in this victory, Maxime Chanot and Alexander Callens might not get the credit they deserve for their solid games at the heart of the back four.
Vieira didn’t want that to happen, so he made sure to make mention of both of them too in his press conference, singling both out for praise.
An illuminating stat on the defensive front… in NYCFC’s last four games, we’ve allowed less than five shots on target which is always going to give the team a chance of success if we can convert our chances at the other end.
