In the past three games, New York City Football Club has scored fourteen goals. That is a goal roughly every nineteen minutes of game time. The Club has been on a tear and Sunday afternoon they defeated San Jose three goals to none.
NYCFC waited until late in the second half to start, but once Keaton Parks connected with Talles Magno on a nice give-and-go play, the floodgates opened. Substitute,Gabriel Pereira scored next with a deft move inside the box and a clever left-footed strike. The third came also from a man who started the game on the bench. Chris Gloster came on in the 56th minute when Malte Amundsen left with an injury and in the final two minutes of regulation time, he found himself with the ball streaking down the left flank. He could have crossed the ball in to the box, but continued his run forward and beat San Jose keeper James Marcinkowski on the near post. The game could have even been more lopsided with a goal by Magno marked as off-side and with Valentine Castellanos uncharacteristically missing an absolute sitter in the second half.
May 1, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC midfielder Valentin Castellanos (11) reacts during the second half against the San Jose Earthquakes at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
“First of all, I have to give credit to San Jose, they were really organized and hard to play against. They really believe in what they are doing, playing from behind, pressing together. We had to be at our best, be patient, and to stay disciplined. It’s easy to be stressed when you don’t take your chances in the first half. We just kept on going. We had really good substitutes who came on. I think it was our best performance this year, ” Ronny Deila said post game.
It may well have been the most complete performance the team has had so far. After a lackluster first half where they allowed San Jose to out possess them and sit back with the ball, NYCFC came out swinging in the second half nearly scoring just 45 seconds in. The team also got a clean sheet again and the defense that looked suspect against Toronto was solid and in control The return of a true center back in Thiago Martins did wonders for the back line.
The subs that came on all created havoc for the Earthquakes. Maxi Morales returned from injury in the 65th minute and looked refreshed an eager to join in the attack. His entry into the game, coupled with Pereira’s entrance pushed Santiago Rodriguez out of the ten and back into more of a double pivot six role alongside Parks. The effect was lethal with Parks scoring just nine minutes later.
May 1, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC midfielder Gabriel Pereira (38) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Earthquakes with teammates during the second half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Delia game all the credit for the second half to his players. “It’s always like that in the second half, if you keep disciplined and keep a tempo in the game, the two teams normally open up. Bad teams really open up and good teams stay compact and together. I think San Jose kept themselves together until we made it 1-0. We could have gotten four or five. I can’t give enough credit to all the players.”
Keaton Parks earned man of the match honors with 95% passing accuracy, his goal and two good scoring chances. The score marks the largest win by NYCFC over the Earthquakes in team history and the team came just one goal shy of a league record of fifteen goals in three games.
Perhaps Deila said it best when talking about the differences between this year’s team and last year’s Championship team. “I think we have a more attacking minded team. I have to put players in roles where they get the best out of themselves. We adapt the style to what type of player it is and against who. The most important thing to me is the team ahead of the individuals. Everybody has to respect and give their all to the team, whether it be on the pitch or on the bench. The way we are playing now is going to make us really hard to beat.”
Next Saturday NYCFC host Sporting KC and look to have a similar result against another Western Conference opponent. If NYCFC can keep scoring in bunches they will be a very very hard team to beat indeed.
