MANCHESTER, England | New York City FC goalkeeper Josh Saunders believes the Manchester leg of the preseason trip has been invaluable in fostering team spirit ahead of the team’s inaugural season.
The players fly back to New York today after 10 days in the United Kingdom, during which they scrimmaged against St Mirren and Brondby, but also had the chance to get to know each other better and bond as a group.
Saunders believes the experience will give New York City FC a big advantage ahead of the next leg of training camp in Charleston, S.C., when the Club takes on Orlando City SC, Houston Dynamo and Charleston Battery.
“The trip has been great,” Saunders said. “Everyone has been so accommodating and so welcoming, the facilities here have been amazing and it’s been awesome for us to get together as a team, see everything and play here. It was good for us to be here together and band together as brothers.
“You’re all a group of strangers in another country. You really pull together tighter and have a lot of experiences together in terms of getting out shopping or having a coffee together in a different place, and it’s been fun to do that together.”
While the team suffered disappointment in the second exhibition match, losing 2-0 to Brondby on Sunday, Saunders is firmly focused on the many positives of the match rather than the result.
Saunders believes the squad can take a number of lessons away from the defeat, and it’s important to identify any difficulties now rather than when the regular season kicks off on March 8.
“You always have positives, especially in preseason when you lose and you learn a lot,” Saunders said. “You learn a lot about yourselves and where you need to improve. I thought it was a good game and a good test against a good team who like to keep the ball in a similar style to us. I think we learned a lot from it, both individually and collectively as a group. It was beneficial because it’s going to help us in a long run.”
Brondby were often content to sit back and let New York City FC have possession before breaking swiftly on the counterattack.
However, Saunders refused to get frustrated by the approach and said his Club has to find ways of breaking down a strong and resolute side that will press hard and not allow time on the ball.
“At times we were too long on the ball and weren’t getting out of spots fast enough,” he said. “We need to learn how to break down that pressure and see that it’s coming. That’s the time we need to take one or two steps on the ball.
“We’re going to get better and to get that out of this game is going to be huge for us before going to Charleston and playing MLS teams where there will be a high pressure and small spaces to get out, so we will get a lot from it.”
