New York City Football Club Head Coach Ronny Deila has praised his side’s defensive performance following the draw with Sporting Kansas City.
The Boys in Blue took to a rain-soaked Citi Field on Saturday night to face off against Sporting with both teams ultimately taking a point from the game. A tight affair in both boxes, the result saw NYCFC record their third clean sheet in four games something that Deila noted as he praised his team’s defensive output.
“I think everybody did their job defensively,” he said. “That makes it easy for defenders. I think Sean [Johnson] especially played really well today. He made a fantastic save at the end of the first half to keep us in the game. First and foremost, it’s about the attitude and organization. Everybody's willing to do their jobs defensively and offensively. We always have chances to win and when you defend well you’ll always get something. Today we managed to get one point because we defended really well and controlled the game – 73% possession is almost more than I like, I think we should have been more direct.”
Despite NYCFC's best efforts to secure the three points they met a dogged opponent in SKC. Deila took time to commend Sporting KC for their hard work off the ball and defensive strength. The visitors limited NYCFC to three attempts on target during the ninety minutes, with Deila admitting his side could have done more in the final third.
“They work really hard,” Deila said. “You have to give credit to Kansas as well. They made it hard for us. They were strong upfront. They kicked a lot in behind to try and catch us out with the space in behind the defence. They did that in the beginning of the game and I think we adjusted well. They had maybe two or three chances so that’s ok defensively, but offensively we had a couple of big chances and we didn’t take them. It wasn’t our best day but at the same time we get a point.”
