On the road in New England this past weekend, NYCFC fell to the Revolution in a hard fought game that saw the men in baby blue battle a man down for most of the game.
Jason Kreis’ men started off on the front foot, with a nifty backheel by David Villa setting up a move that ended with a Patrick Mullins header to the far post which forced a save from Revs keeper Brad Knighton in the second minute of play.
Shortly after that, off a short corner play, Villa found Manchester City loanee, Angeliño, who ripped a vicious left footed shot that swerved just outside the far post.
Perhaps the best early chance for NYCFC, however, involved Mullins again in the 9th minute, when Angelino served in a terrific ball over the shoulder of Mullins, who did well to hold off his defender. It would have simply been Mullins with the keeper if not for Revolution defender Farrell holding the arm of Mullins just long enough for a second defender, Woodberry, to come in and make a challenge at the crucial moment before Mullins could strike the ball.
Minutes later, The NYCFC defense had another one of the many lapses in concentration that have plagued their entire season. After a slick bit of interchange play between Kobayashi and Fagundez in the attacking third pulled the NYCFC backline out of position, Fagundez played a great ball to the streaking Nguyen on the left side of the box, with only Ballouchy covering. Ballouchy simply gave Nguyen far too much space to cut inside, and Nguyen made him and NYCFC pay for it with a low curling strike into the far corner of the net to put the Revs up 1-0 in the 12th minute of play.
NYCFC had a great chance to level the score in the 29th minute, when a free kick well outside the box was swung in by Villa and nearly found the head of Jacobson. However, with Woodberry shoving Jacobson at the final moment, the NYCFC midfielder missed the ball entirely, and raised his hands incredulously to the ref who felt the play was undeserving of a penalty.
By the end of the half, New England was piling pressure on the NYCFC defense with several waves of counterattacks, including one chance that should have been finished off by Charlie Davis at the far post. Jason Kreis would have been happy to get into halftime with just a goal down and reset his men.
However, whatever halftime strategy Kreis gave his men was only relevant for about 15 minutes into the second half, when Ned Grabavoy was sent off for a reckless challenge on Kobayashi. With both players raising their boots in an attempt for a bouncing ball between them, Kobayashi got the clear first touch, while Grabavoy, intentionally or not, dropped his studs on Kobayashi’s thighs, sending the Revs midfielder to the turf, writhing in agony. The lack of any real protest by the NYCFC players illustrated the clear acceptance of guilt, and will be disappointing for coach Kreis, who relies on Grabavoy to provide a savvy veteran presence in the team.
After the sending off, the game became much more open, as NYCFC were forced to seek the equalizer. However, the much maligned NYCFC defense deserves credit for the way they endured the onslaught of attacking pressure from the Revs. While the Revolution had 14 attempts on goal in total, the NYCFC defense only allowed four of those attempts to be on target, which is impressive considering the scenario.
While the NYCFC was able to muster a few attacking chances late in the game, they never seriously threatened the Revs goal, and were shutout when the final whistle blew. However, as far as losses go, this one was far from discouraging, as Jason Kreis’ men displayed the fight and tenacity that has slowly began to characterize this young team in the past couple months. Additionally, NYCFC is still only three points away from sixth place in the East (the final playoff spot) and have plenty of season left to play, not to mention two world class midfielders joining their squad this week.
New York City FC returns home next Sunday to face off against fellow MLS newcomers, Orlando City FC. The match has the potential to be one of the most star studded games in MLS history, as both Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo could make their debuts against World Cup champion and former Balon D’Or winner, Kaká. Kickoff is Sunday afternoon at 2:30, and will be broadcast on Foxsports 1 and Fox Deportes.
