NYC FC to face several line up changes this weekend with injuries, suspensions and international duties. This includes forward Khiry Shelton, who is seen here in the scoreless draw against Colorado.
Match Preview: winless SKC to face undefeated NYC FC
by Anna Ferkingstad, New York Editor
After last weekend’s scoreless tie against the Colorado Rapids, Jason Kreis’ NYC FC remains undefeated in their first MLS season. The team sits at the top of the Eastern Conference as they prepare this Saturday to host Sporting Kansas City at Yankee Stadium. The match up against SKC marks only New York’s fourth league game, with their sole victory occurring at home. In Yankee Stadium’s MLS premier, NYC FC grabbed a 2-0 victory against the 2014 Eastern Conference Champions, the New England Revolution. Over 40,000 people gathered for New York’s home opener and witnessed Spanish striking legend, David Villa score his first ever MLS goal.
This weekend, however, the club is to face one of their toughest challenges yet – Sporting Kansas City. Despite the poor showing for New York in Colorado, they will have the advantage this weekend of a home crowd. Kansas City, however, is yet to grab a victory this season. Extending to 2014, Sporting is winless in their last five games. This is a tie for their longest winless streak since they survived 10 games without a victory in the 2011 season. Kansas City had a strong but inconsistent showing in 2014 and was eliminated from the postseason after a nail-biting 2-1 loss against the New York Red Bulls.
Goalkeeper Joshua Saunders making a save in NYC FC’s 2-0 victory against New England. NYC FC has only let in one goal this regular season.
SKC will be hungry for a win, and NYC FC needs to be ready for it. Many people have deemed the new blue and white club as reliant on Villa up front. So far, it has been true. New York has fresh talent and several big name signings but the last three matches have shown an offense necessitating Villa’s skill and mobility. Midfielder Ned Grabavoy has worked well to control the pace of the center, but Villa is often the outlet on transition. NYC’s Goalkeeper Josh Saunders has also had several very strong performances for the club. His mobility and quick thinking had a large impact on the final 0-0 scoreline against the Colorado Rapids. Combined with the work rate of the midfield, Saunders has led NYC FC to only one conceded goal thus far this season.
Jason Kreis faces several lineup decisions for the match against Sporting Kansas City after it was announced that two key members of NYC FC’s attack will be gone on international duty. Forward Khiry Shelton was called up by the US U-23s and has made an immediate impact as a substitute in all three games New york has played. Slovakian forward Adam Nemec has started all games alongside Villa, and will be absent due to games Slovakian national team for a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier and friendly. Nemec’s play has not stood out as much as Shelton’s, but he continually draws defenders away from Villa and demonstrates creativity in the pairing with the Spanish striker. It is likely that Patrick Mullin (who scored the second goal against New England after entering as a substitute) will start alongside Villa. The absence of both Nemec and Shelton is likely to be missed.
Kansas City’s Dom Dwyer against a Portland Timber in last weekend’s 0-0 draw.
Sporting Kansas City also grabbed a scoreless draw in their last match, despite the large number of shots between them and the Portland Timbers. Sporting had 16 shots to the Timbers 7, but only two of their total shots were on target. The Timbers defensive line struggled against the movement and creativity of Kansas City’s Graham Zusi.
The game between Sporting and New York will be close. Neither team has been in form the last week and struggles to finish attacking opportunities. A huge key to the game will be NYC FC’s ability to contains Sporting’s offensive powerhouses Zusi and Dom Dwyer. If New York wants the win, they are going to need to overcome inconsistencies in the defensive line up. New York finished the game against Colorado with only 10 men after defender Shay Facey received a red card. In the first two games of the season, Josh Williams started in Facey’s position but missed the match against Colorado due to an illness. In the draw against Colorado, the Rapids outshot New York 21 to 9 but New York held the majority of the possession.
Unless these two teams tie, a streak is going to end today. A loss for New York City means that Sporting Kansas City would grab their first win of the season and put an end to their fruitless drought of games. Saturday’s 7pm kick off also marks only the second MLS regular season game to be played at Yankee Stadium. Despite all the injury and international absences, will NYC withstand SKC in order to maintain their undefeated streak in their inaugural season?
