As NYCFC’s season is in full swing, coming off a draw against D.C. United, the man that shined through the 90 minutes was Sean Johnson. The keepers stand out performance landed him a spot on the MLS Team of the Week.
Johnson maintained a clean sheet throughout the night and made three crucial saves to hold off D.C. United’s attempts, but Johnson was quick to recognize and give credit to his teammates.
“I thought we did a good job today, thought the team was committed to playing today. I think both teams played well and the backline was solid as well, we limited them to three opportunities the entire match,” said Johnson. “I thought everyone was pretty in tune today. There weren’t many mental lapses, a lot of players came up to make big plays. Everybody stepped up around the pitch, everybody gave 100% of effort, we were better than we were last week and I’ll keep reiterating that. If we can continue to improve, I think the ceilings very, very high for this young team.”
Coming off of a draw versus Orlando City SC, Dome Torrent’s game plan to prepare for D.C. United shifted.
“We had a bit of a different approach than in the Orlando game but we, in moments, showed that we were really good with the ball. Obviously we’ll look to get better but we could have played a bit quicker, move the ball a little bit more to give ourselves more space to advance the ball into the attack but we’re two games into the year but we’re continuously building.” Said Johnson. “Especially on the last game, and then coming here and having a good performance, playing a different style of ball than we played the first game. I think we’ll be happy with the progress.”
Equipped with two points, the Boys in Blue are hungry for a win, hungry to come away with those three points - especially at home against LAFC this Sunday.
“Obviously we wanted the three points, but that was a tough game against a tough opponent. For us I think we have to go back and analyze the game but I think 0-0 is also a fair result given the game,” said Johnson. “We want to find that first win, hopefully against LAFC, but we’ll take the week to prepare and really look to come out next week and really build off the performance today.”
As the games are fast approaching, the young, fresh faced NYCFC team is finding its stride, preparing for the season ahead. The group seems to have found its footing in the Home Opener, but they look forward to the opportunity to progress as the season continues.
“I think we have a solid group of guys who have been working together for a long time. Some guys that have been working together for years, obviously we have some young guys, the new additions that are fantastic for us so we want to keep building,” Johnson said. “This group has a confidence about them and I think we’re starting to hit our stride and once we get to that point I think we’ll be a really, really tough team to play against.”
