New York City FC suffered their first-ever loss on a chilly Saturday evening at Yankee Stadium. Despite the Club’s 1-0 defeat to 2013 MLS Cup Champion Sporting Kansas City, the crowd was still in full force and boisterous.
Mark Cannizzaro of the NY Post writes:
“One week after NYCFC played its first home game at Yankee Stadium in front of nearly 44,000, the crowd on Saturday was an impressive showing for the home side considering the temperature was 38 degrees and dropping at kickoff and it snowed throughout the match.”
Like Cannizzaro, Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record pointed out the sellout crowd of 27,545 that came to Yankee Stadium for the match.
Vasquez writes: “A crowd of 27,545 braved the frigid night, packing the lower decks of the stadium.”
While some stories gave a plug to the fans, the majority of the headlines centered around the absence of New York City FC captain David Villa, who was sidelined with an injury, and the presence of Frank Lampard.
Lampard, the Club’s second designated player who is scheduled to join the squad in July, took in Saturday’s match and atmosphere while Manchester City was on hiatus during the international break.
Colin Stephenson of the New York Times writes: "He watched the game from a suite in the stadium but was not made available to the news media, at his direction. A team spokesman said that Lampard did not want to take attention away from the players currently suiting up for the club."
Villa is expected back in action with the rest of New York City FC on April 11 against the Union at PPL.
As Filip Bondy of the Daily News concludes: "The home defeat left some NYCFC players angry at themselves and anxious for redemption. 'It's actually a bad thing,' Mehdi Ballouchy said, of this upcoming break. 'When you lose, you want to get back as soon as possible and forget about that game.'"
