When the line up was announced on Saturday fans everywhere in NYC were nervous. Patrick Vieira was playing his three at the back formation again with one major tweak: no David Villa. In his place was Isamel Tajori-Shradi, the young striker who had only one shot on goal saved this year. All the others hit the back of the net. Post game Vieira explained his decision this way.
“What I wanted to see today was the different combination of players up front, I wanted to see the relationship between Jo, Ismael, Jesus. I know that David is a top player I know what I can get from him so just for this game I wanted to try some things and there was some good and some bad but at the end I think when you have quality players that we have up front it allows me to play and make some tough decisions and this is part of my job and it’s not easy. It’s not easy to leave David out today, it wasn’t easy to leave Ismael, Jesus and Maxi and the players have to get used to it because I will rotate the players.”
It was a formation with Jo Inge Berget as the point and Jesus Medina and Shradi free to roam beneath him. Anton Tinnerholm was also announced in the stadium as playing a forward. The crowd was nervous indeed. As the first half began NYCFC looked good at time and lost at others. They were conceding the midfield to Orlando it seemed. Maxi Moralez was having a hard time creating and Tommy MacNamara was doing his best to fill in for an injured Yangel Herrera. Orlando was dominating possession and seemed destined to score. Justin Meram seemed to have free reign on the right side with Tinnerholm so far advanced. In fact, NYCFC were lucky not to go down with a Meram shot just glancing off the post and bouncing wide. All things righted themselves when a text book switch field cross found a streaking Tinnerholm who passed it forward onto an overlapping Shradi run. The deft striker cut the ball back to send an Orlando defender sliding past and then calmly sent a rocket of a shot past Joe Bendick into the right hand upper corner of the goal.
It was a play that this line up was made for and it worked like a charm. Once NYCFC was up a goal they saw out the half with better resolve as Orlando tried to equalize. At halftime Vieira made some changes, taking off MacNamara and adding Ben Sweat. Moving back to the traditional 4-3-3 line up that allowed Alexander Ring to enter back into the Midfield.
Ring looked like a kid in a candy store and was clearly happy to be back in his preferred position. He won ball after ball and closed the holes in the middle of the pitch that Orlando had exploited in the first half. Moralez had free rule to run an create and the goals kept coming.
After Sascha Kljestan missed a rather dubiously rewarded penalty kick early in the second half, NYCFC took control. Tajouri-Shradi hit an excellent free kick shot from a difficult angle to add to his goal tally and perhaps the MLS goal of the week came when all three designated players combined for the third goal. Jonathan Lewis ( that is right, I said Lewis) split two defenders and passed the ball to Jesus Medina who send a good shot off the top of the cross bar. David Villa athletically volleyed a quick one touch shot back only to hit the top of the crossbar as well, but it was Moralez who was there to finish off the play with a jumping shot into the net. It was a play that signified NYCFC’s night. A gritty performance where all players were playing well and ultimately getting results.
Several things stood out about the game. Lewis took full advantage of his first action of the season and showed his time on the bench had not quenched the bright prospect he showed last year. He shredded defenders with his quick touch and created the scene for the third goal. He also combined well with Villa and showed real promise. He will no doubt seem more action during this week’s Open Cup game against the Red Bulls. it will be a true change for him to prove his quality and consistency.
Also, the tactical shift Vieira made in the second half of switching back to the 4-3-3 line up at the half would have served the team well in the previous loss at Houston. If NYCFC can learn to switch between the three at the back line up into the 4-3-3 with fluidity then opposing coaches will have a devil of a time preparing for them. Sean Johnson summed it up after the match. “Yeah, we changed our formation, so that’s a big part of it. We saw the hands Orlando threw at us in the first half and we came in, the coach made necessary changes, and I think it was brilliant. It showed that we came and gave it something, we took it on, made our changes and went on to be more dominant in the second.”
NYCFC and their fans those words, “More dominant in the second,” hold true for the season as well as the one game. NYCFC have a tough week ahead as they travel again to Red Bull for an Open Cup match. After the ignominious defeat their last time Ring said ” We don’t need any motivation for this game.” Then, on Saturday, it is a marquee match n the Eastern Conference as NYCFC can leap Atlanta United into first with a win at home against a very very tough squad. Things don’t get easier but, if the game against Orando is any indication, this should be a very fun week for fans.
