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Patrick Vieira 'really disappointed' by NYCFC's early US Open Cup exit

Patrick Vieira was concerned about the inexperience of his backline heading into a fourth round U.S. Open Cup showdown with the New York Cosmos.
As it turned out, it was his forwards who let him down.
For a second straight year, NYCFC lost to the Cosmos in the same round of the tournament. And for Vieira, there was plenty of blame to go around after the 1-0 defeat at Fordhamā€™s Coffey Field.
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ā€œI gave some players a chance to perform, to show me they deserve to play more and they didnā€™t show it today,ā€ Vieira said. ā€œThatā€™s why Iā€™m quite really frustrated because the trust I had in them, I didnā€™t get it back. Itā€™s difficult for me to accept.ā€
Vieira said he shares the blame because of the starting XI he chose.
ā€œAs a manager, Iā€™m the one who made the selection and I am the first one to put my hand in the air and say I made a mistake when I made the decision to rest so many players,ā€ Vieira said. ā€œIā€™m the first responsible for the performance of the players.ā€
It was another situation Vieira said his forwards, in this case Khiry Shelton, Patrick Mullins and Kwadwo Poku, didnā€™t show enough humility in the attacking third.
ā€œIf you donā€™t show [humility], you have to be [like] Monsieur Ronaldo, to have the quality to do it,ā€ Vieira said. ā€œWhen you donā€™t have that quality to do it, you have to keep the game simple, be humble and work hard for the team. When we donā€™t do it, we donā€™t have any chance to win games.ā€
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Itā€™s a bitter pill for the players to swallow, a second straight loss to the Cosmos.
ā€œThis is 2-out-of-2 against the Cosmos in this fashion where weā€™re left disappointed,ā€ Mullins said.
While fans might question the clubā€™s desire to win the U.S. Open Cup with so many first team regulars not even dressed for this budding rivalry, Vieira said thatā€™s not the case.
ā€œWhen you look at our cabinet, it is empty,ā€ Vieira said. ā€œThis is a competition you can get to the final just by playing five games. It was an important competition for us. Iā€™m frustrated, really disappointed and Iā€™m upset.ā€