Not all 2-1 losses are created equal.
NYCFC’s loss by that score to Houston Dynamo in their second game of the Carolina Challenge Cup on February 25th was, if not a win on the scoreboard, certainly a win compared to the 1-1 draw against Orlando earlier, and extremely encouraging for fans of the Citizens.
Why? Three reasons.
For starters, the NYCFC goal in the 81st minute was just a straight up thing of beauty. McNamara’s backheel that caught Diskerud in stride, off of a throw in, showed the kind of team work that wins games. And to execute a series of passes and timing that precisely on a pitch that was well-soaked and while it was bucketing down rain, should give fans great hope for the season.
Second, the two goals NYCFC gave up were not disasters. Not the kind of inevitable defensive failures that one can feel building and building like a hurricane on the horizon. The first one was, frankly, a beautiful cross and finish and one must simply tip one’s hat to the Dynamo’s Kofi Sarkodie and Brad Davis respectively. That said, NYCFC’s backline were not horribly out of position and only missed heading the ball clear by inches, requiring Davis to make a fairly perfect touch.
As for the second, goal, Garcia was marked, then, admittedly, he was lost, and then, by the time he was marked again, he was already in the air heading the ball home. Terrible, right? Except marking on set pieces is a game of prioritization, And since this was only Garcia’s second header goal in the past 2 years, one can, while not forgive the backline for letting him slip through their fingers, at least understand why perhaps a Will Bruin or Ricardo Clark or even DaMarcus Beasley took more of their attention.
And three, the incredible diversity of attack. For many teams, the ball comes through one particular playmaker, be he in the center of the pitch or on the wing. Or, if the attack is more varied, it always seems to end up with one target And yet neither was the case for NYCFC on the 26th. At times Ballouchy drove the attack. At other times, it flowed through Diskerud. Kwadwo Poku had some fine distribution and had his best game thus far. And the targets varied too – Diskerud, obviously, as the goal scorer. But also Taylor and Mullins and Shelton. Will this change when David Villa gets back on the pitch? Perhaps. But one would hope not, as a multi-pronged attack is much harder to defend against and provides offensive flexibility against differing teams.
One could even add a fourth reason too. NYCFC were constantly attacking and generally very aggressive throughout the game. Much more so than they were during the first half of the Orlando City match. Khiry Shelton again impressed with his work rate on offense and defense. The passing across the board was generally crisp and consistent and purposeful. And in the second half, even when they were down by two, the team played with passion and intensity when it would have been easy to coast.
All of these are reasons to be cheerful about NYCFC’s chances in the coming season – reasons made yet more encouraging by the fact that they happened against Houston Dynamo – a proven MLS quality team (unlike, say OCSC) who played Brad Davis, DaMarcus Beasley and Kofi Sarkodie for the full 90, and Boniek Garcia for nearly the entire match. All quality MLS first team players, and not third stringers just trying to make the squad.
Are there concerns? Of course. Beasley was given way too much room to run and the back line obviously needs to work on communication. And of course, it’s anybody’s guess how all of this translates from the cozy 5100 seat confines of Blackbaud Stadium to the Citrus Bowl and beyond. But for the time being, Citizens should be optimistic.
