It was the same story as the last several games for New York City Football Club. The team played decently, but ended up not being about to create chances and goals after giving up the lead. This time though, there was a twist. Whereas the other losses recently had been on the road, this time, NYCFC suffered their first loss at home for the season.
It started well with New York playing crisp build up football and Gabriel Pereria scoring a well worked goal in the thirtieth minute. NYCFC were the better team for fist half causing Philadelphia all sorts of problems, but the team wilted in the waning minutes of the first half giving up two soft easy goals to Julian Caranza in stoppage time. It was a deficit that NYCFC would never recover from.
May 27, 2023; Flushing, New York, USA; New York City FC midfielder Gabriel Pereira (11) celebrates his goal against the Philadelphia Union with defender Tayvon Gray (24) and forward Andres Jasson (21) and midfielder Santiago Rodriguez (10) during the first half at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
In the second half, NYCFC looked a but stagnant and lost. Insult was added to injury when Thiago Martins fouled Caranza on yet another break away in the box giving a penalty. Daniel Gazdag kept his PK streak this year alive and coolly slotted it home, putting the visiting team up by another goal.
What is most worrying for NYCFC is that they seemingly have no answer when they go behind. Nick Cushing put on Thiago Martins in the second half and brought on Gabe Segal, but they had little to no impact on the game play at all. They team simply could not create enough scoring opportunities to bother The Union.
May 27, 2023; Flushing, New York, USA; Philadelphia Union midfielder Deniel Gazdag (10) celebrates his penalty kick goal against New York City FC goalkeeper Luis Barraza (1) with teammates during the second half at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Cushing had this to say after the match, “I thought we’ve done very very well. We were dominating the ball. We were getting into really good offensive areas. We had a great chance with Andres Jasson at the far post. We had the Gabriel Pereira chance. We had a great chance off set play. We were getting into really really good areas. We know with this team, Philadelphia, we know they are a team that is very direct. We know they are a team that is going to put us under pressure. We know that they are going to play off set plays. We know the way that they play and if you lose focus for a moment it can make the game difficult and I thought they had two moments in the game. In our league the margins are so small so the game swings. Halftime was really about trying to focus in those small moments when they have those attacks and continuously putting them under pressure and creating chances. We were creating many moments in the game to get chances and the sucker punch comes in that moment with the penalty.”
The problem with this quote is that he has said almost the exact same thing after every game in the last six games. The team has not won a game since April 22nd and the bye week did not seem to cure any of NYCFC’s woes. Also, inexplicably, Cushing has not played the same starting eleven as he did in their last win in any of the last six games. Fans that remember how good the team looked when they crushed Dallas at home must be deeply disappointed at not seeing that eleven get another chance.
The next three games don’t get any easier as they face a tough Cincinnati side midweek at home and follow it up with New England next weekend, again at home. Then, the team goes back on the road and we all know how that has been this season for the club. Currently, the team is eleventh in the East and if Cushing’s men don’t find solutions soon, NYCFC could be looking at a very long season.
