New York City FC head coach Jason Kreis stressed that he doesn't want the Club to simply be playoff contenders.
"At the end of the day we don’t want to just be a playoff contention team, we want to be an MLS Cup contention team," he said.
New York City FC is currently marching toward those goals thanks to a recent improved run of form. The Club is now 6-9-6 (24 points) and sits in seventh in the Eastern Conference; one spot and three points shy of the playoff line. New York City FC is 5-2-1 since June 1 and a lot of that success is in correlation with the torrid scoring streak of captain David Villa.
Villa has nine goals in the last eight matches following his brace in the Club's 5-3 victory over Orlando City SC on July 26. Villa averages one goal per 80 minutes during that span compared to one goal every 259.7 minutes he averaged during the first 13 matches (three goals in 10 appearances) with New York City FC.
He also has three goals in two matches against the Impact this season.
David Villa |
First 13 Matches |
Last 8 Matches |
|---|---|---|
Matches played |
10 |
8 |
Matches started |
9 |
8 |
Minutes played |
779 |
720 |
Goals |
3 |
9 |
Minutes/goal |
259.67 |
80 |
Shooting accuracy |
72.41% |
61.29% |
Shot conversion rate |
10.34 |
29.03 |
Absentees
New York City FC will be without midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy, who is suspended one match due to yellow card accumulation.
Road Struggles
To say Montreal has struggled on the road is a bit of an understatement.
The Impact have just seven wins in 61 away matches in Major League Soccer and only one since the start of the 2014 season. Montreal has acquired just five points from nine away matches this season (1-6-2), with their lone road victory coming on June 6 against Columbus Crew SC at MAPFRE Stadium. That win ended a 25-match road winless streak in the league.
Montreal has been outscored 18-7 away from Stade Saputo this campaign.
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
|---|---|---|
7/18 |
at Sporting KC |
2-1 L |
6/27 |
at Philadelphia |
2-2 T |
6/24 |
at Toronto FC |
3-1 L |
6/13 |
at New York City FC |
<a href="//www.nycfc.com/post/2015/06/13/new-york-city-fc-vs-montreal-impact-match-recap">3-1 L</a> |
6/6 |
at Columbus Crew |
2-1 W |
5/30 |
at Chicago |
3-0 L |
4/11 |
at Houston |
3-0 L |
3/21 |
at New England |
0-0 T |
3/7 |
at D.C. United |
1-0 L |
Key Numbers
- New York City FC is 2-0-0 against Montreal this season, beating the Impact 3-1 at home on June 13 and 2-1 on July 4 at Stade Saputo.
- There have been 24 combined goals in New York City FC's last four matches at Yankee Stadium (2-1-1).
- Montreal is 2-3-1 (seven points) in the last six matches.
- New York City FC have conceded a league-leading 20 goals at home this season.
- Six of the Impact's 25 goals have been scored by strikers. That percentage (24) is tied for a league low.
- Ten of New York City FC's 29 goals this season have been scored in the final 15 minutes of matches.
- Montreal (7-8-3) is sixth in the Eastern Conference with 24 points, while New York City FC (6-9-6) is seventh with 24 points.
