If you just watched the first half of the match between New York City FC and Portland Timbers, you would have thought the home team was back in spectacular fashion, But if you stayed for the whole game you would have watch Portland claw back and send a dagger into the New York fans in the last minute of stoppage time. The game ended 2-1, but for New York City fans, players, and coaches the loss was a sign of much much more.
Evander Ferreira hit a beautiful shot from distance in the 97th minute to send spirits in the Bronx plummeting. Until that moment fans had been through the whole evolution of hope turning to despair. Even though it was a cold, rainy home opener for NYCFC the team started quickly, something that had been missing in their last two matches. Out of the gate they pounced on Portland and played the ball quickly looking like the New York teams of old for the first time this year. They were rewarded for their effort in the tenth minute when Santiago Rodriguez scored off a nice shot in the box. It seemed NYCFC was back. The stadium was rocking and the fans were joyous that what appeared to be a slow sloppy start of the season would be corrected at home. Even the banner in the supporter’s section of Yankee Stadium before the game was a huge sign that said “redemption begins now!”
The mood stayed festive thought halftime as New York took their lead to the locker room. There was a feeling a second goal was coming. Monsef Bakrar had looked dangerous all half giving the Portland back line fits, but he was unable to finish his chances. Phil Neville and Portland had other ideas. They came out in the second half and increased pressure on NYCFC causing Nick Cushing to make a defensive move in the 67th minute bringing on defensive minded Justin Haak for Andres Jasson and Julian Fernandez for Hannes Wolf. Both Jasson and Wolf had been very effective getting forward in the attack for New York and with them gone New York seemed to shrink back and try to hang on to their one goal lead. As a result New York, a team that normally dominates this statistic, was held to just thirty-five percent ball possession in the second half and only managed two shots on target. What had started so promising turned sour fast. Anthony scored the tying with five minutes to spare in regulation and then after seven minutes of stoppage time New York folded again.
Chants of “Cushing Out” were audible and ringing inside the stadium as fans were frustrated with the results and the team form from last year spilling over to a new season in 2024. Indeed this could have been a game script from last year when the team floundered and struggled for goals while giving up points they should have easily won at home and on the road. All three of New York’s first games have had large elements of what made the team so frustrating to watch last season. After the game, a visibly frustrated Nick Cushing addressed the issue.
“We have to learn from this. You can just be the team you were three years ago because you want to be,” he said addressing the frustration in the locker room. “you can’t just be that team because you want to be. You have to go through the journey of the highs and the lows of really fighting and coming together and learning. Then you can become a championship team.And we are going through that process and it is super painful”
Keaton Park was perhaps more candid after the game. ” I think we have a lot of young guys that don’t play for results…we need to grind out fucking results and not just bask in one goal leads and shit.” He went on to comment that “Hannes (Wolf) is an amazing player.. I wish he had stayed out there longer.”
When Cushing was asked post game how much responsibility he he felt he had in the team’s form and loss he replied, ” 150,000 percent because I’m the leader and I’m 100 Percent responsible for them and I will tell David Lee and Brad Sims that.”
That last answer speaks volumes about the pressure Cushing and all the players on this team feel right now. New York was the only team in the Eastern Conference that did not make the playoffs last year to not change their coach either mid season or post season. Now they have played three games. have three losses and only one goal in 270 plus minutes of play. It is true, as Cushing says, ” You can’t just want to be the team you were three years ago” but, with the team having just lost their first home opener ever, if the they can’t find some sort of form against a very good Toronto squad next weekend at home, things could get very hot indeed.
NYCFC
Portland Timbers
