NYC’s starting lineup two weeks ago, in their opening home game against the New England Revolution. Against SKC, several of these players were absent, including David Villa and Adam Nemec. Photo: Kristian Cardillo / Prost Amerika
Lineup changes contribute to NYC FC’s first loss
by Anna Ferkingstad, New York Editor
NYC FC finishes with a zero on the scoreboard against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, after striker David Villa missed his first ever league MLS game. Patrick Mullins and Javier Calle got their first starts with the club in the absence of Villa and Adam Nemec, who also missed Saturday’s home game due to international duty with the Slovakian national team. A club that has been greatly reliant on the offensive presence of Villa, NYC FC struggled to finish shots and capitalize on attacking opportunities all night without the Spanish forward. By the end of 90 brisk and snowy minutes, SKC ended their five-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over the New York club who had been previously undefeated.
Coach Jason Kreis commented on the absence of Villa following the match, stating the striker had been nursing an abductor strain since before the opening game against Orlando FC several weeks ago. Despite Villa powering through for games in the past weeks, Kreis stated they knew immediately in Friday’s practice that Villa was not going to play Saturday. “Yesterday was the first time where [Villa] was like, ‘No the pain is too unbearable this time,’” Kreis stated. As New York looks forward to a bie weekend, the hopes are that Villa will be healthy and able to play by the April 11th match against the Philadelphia Union.
The win against NYC FC marked SKC’s first victory of the season. Last weekend, they drew a scoreless tie against the Portland Timbers.
Saturday’s kickoff between NYC and SKC revealed a Sporting Kansas City side ready to capitalize on the gaps in New York’s starting lineup. NYC’s Ned Grabavoy had the opening shot of the match, but for several minutes after Sporting controlled the play and drew multiple fouls from New York’s midfield. SKC secured their game winning goal in the 12th minute on a long throw in from Matt Besler. City’s backline left Ike Opara wide open, allowing the 6’2’’ defender to head the ball into the right corner of the net and out of the reach of goalkeeper Josh Saunders.
For the remainder of the first half, New York and Kansas City battled it out in the center of the park. Despite holding 64% of the possession to Kansas City’s 36%, NYC appeared stagnant and slow on the transition out of the midfield. Sporting Kansas City’s substitution of Graham Zusi in the 39th minute (on a possible hamstring injury), was a huge loss to the away team and a relief to Kreis and NYC. As they did throughout 2014, Zusi and Dom Dwyer continually found space and combinations for Sporting in Saturday’s opening minutes.
Goalkeeper Josh Saunders continues to play well in the net for NYC.
Strong performance for NYC FC include defender Chris Wingert, goalkeeper Josh Saunders and all three substitutions seen in the latter minutes of the game (Tony Taylor, Kwadwo Poku and Thomas McNamara). Wingert, who traditionally plays center defender for the club, was active as a right back throughout the match. His combination plays and mobility on the wing relieved pressure and created several attacking opportunities for New York in the second half. For a club that could use some consistency, Saunders has shown game after game that he will be a reliant presence in the net this season. NYC FC narrowly escaped a two goal deficit, when Saunders made a big sliding save in the 64th minute to deny SKC’s Jimmy Medranda from a shot.
New York saw three substitutes in the second half, all in attacking positions. Kreis normally brings striker Khiry Shelton into the later minutes of the game for a change of pace and fresh attacking energy, but the rookie was absent Saturday due to international duty. The Most notably, 25 year old forward Taylor (who was making his club debut) responded to the challenged and drew several scoring opportunities for New York’s midfield and forward lines with his speed and ball movement.
“We still need to improve on creating possession to create attacking chances…” Kreis said, noting that the club struggled in the first half. “The honest truth is that we need to improve in all phases. This is our fourth game now with a brand new team. But there still are signs in every single game that I can walk away and say ‘we are going to be a good team.’”
The final moments of the match saw a plethora of shots from NYC, who jammed ball after ball down Kansas City’s throats. In overtime, headers from both Jeb Brovsky and Ned Grabavoy flew just wide of the net, leaving the crowd gasping and cheering as the final whistle neared. Despite finishing the game with 12 shots to SKC’s 9 (a steady improvement from last week’s 7 to Colorado’s 21), NYC FC showed they do not play as a cohesive unit yet. Was the one goal deficit due to Villa’s absence? Or is the team just too young and new, still working out the kinks?
One could say, it’s a bit of both. But Saturday’s 1-0 loss in front of a sold out crowd at Yankee Stadium, has undisputedly disheveled NYC from their top spot in the Eastern Conference. After their own 2-1 victory on Saturday, NYC’s metro-rivals the New York Red Bulls are now the only defeated New York club. Looking forward, City has the week off before facing the Philadelphia Union in back-to-back games away and then at home.
