(Editorial) – Compared to what was going on in New York City, it looked like a balmy evening on the western coast of Florida on February 17th, the perfect opportunity to see a preseason demonstration of how our new coach and ever-evolving cast of players would do in their first competition against an MLS side.
As you no doubt already know the Cityzens won that match, 1-nil on a lovely Patrick Mullins conversion in the second half. But here are a few things you might not have noticed.
Deadly Impact: NYCFC v Montreal Preseason
First, the Montreal side we were up against was sans Drogba (though he was on the sidelines – as was Frank, by the way. Lovely they could reunite preseason. Hugs all around. Too bad neither of them could find it in their contract to actually, you know, suit up). They were also without Piatti. And Oduro. And while their new (and frankly inexplicable) acquisition Harry Shipp started, he might as well have been in street clothes with Drogba for all the damage he did.
In other words, the Impact had no attack. And this is important, because by far the most important thing for our side to prove this season is that they’ve sorted out their backline. Preseason is the ideal time to work on that. But in Wednesday night’s preseason match, who could tell? You say they held the Impact scoreless? Heck, I could have held the Impact scoreless that night, and I was a thousand miles away. In my basement. Drinking.
And while we’re on the topic of “scoreless”, let’s be clear about something; Eric Alexander was quite definitely NOT offside. His goal should have counted. The game should have ended in a draw. Terrible call by the referee, linesman, and half of downtown St. Petersburg.
And the reason I make a point of this is not because the final score in a preseason game matters per se, but because NYCFC were famous for giving up goals late in halves. How many times last season did the team seemed to drift, lose attention and focus, play as if they forgot that you play until the man in the stripey shirt blows his whistle to signify that play has stopped? That goal by Alexander was an indication that we may be in for more of the same heartbreak in 2016.
But at least if our heart does break, we’ll have a lovely place to get it mended. Doesn’t that new medical facility that St. Anthony’s Hospital have look nice? Lord knows we saw enough commercials of it during the stream of the game that I feel almost a personal connection to it. I can’t wait to slip and fall on something on my next trip to the Sun Coast so I can check it out in person.
Between commercials for the medical center, one could not help but notice the standout effort by the kid Salazar that the Impact picked up in the SuperDraft. Only 23 years old but he looks like a beast. Physically dominated every player he encountered. Fearless. And while he’s listed as a forward, he seemed to spend a lot of his time against in this preseason match bringing the ball up through the midfield. This kid stays healthy and finds a role in the Montreal starting XI alongside the absent Drogba, Piatti, Oduro and Shipp (sorry Harry), and the Impact are gonna be a tough team to handle.
Of course, any team are going to be tough for us to handle if we can’t put together two solid halves. We couldn’t do it last season and, from the looks of what happened in the friendly confines of Al Lang Stadium, we still can’t do it.
In the first half, while the team looked like it was playing at three-quarter speed, it was three-quarters of a higher skill level than we’d played at before. This is due in no small part to the fact that, in spite of the changes to personnel, the team has a core who are familiar with each other’s play. Last year, in preseason and beyond, NYCFC looked like a collection of teammates discovering each other’s abilities during the match.
But in the second half? NYCFC looked like Vieira had picked up 11 guys from the bus station who were meeting for the first time on the pitch. Hell, two of the guys in the second half not only didn’t have names on their jerseys – they weren’t even listed on any roster or NYCFC press release about the game. Madness.
You know what else is madness? Our captain’s hustle. The guy never quits. Never. Twenty minutes into this meaningless preseason match and the guy is chasing down a back pass to Montreal’s goalie. How much do you love that? It’s an inspiration.
Here’s hoping it inspires the rest of the team come March 6.
