After dropping the final installment of the Hudson River Derby and putting out a dreadful performance in which they were dominated by the New York Red Bulls (and Red Bull fans), New York City FC had a decision to make.
Would they mire themselves firmly in the depths of expansion club obscurity, or could they pull it together in an effort to save their season and rise to the expectations set for them?
Thursday evening’s triumph over Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield leaders D.C. United was a performance that gave some indication of which option they chose. In a gut-check victory, the Blues put together one of their most complete performances yet, and one of the only in which their defenders and midfielders both played well.
Ironically, the one goal given up by NYCFC came as a result of a poor back pass by none other than Andrea Pirlo, handing D.C. United a breakaway opportunity which Alvaro Saborio finished off the inside of Josh Saunders’ left post.
#NYCFC is doing well but they just had their “shutoff” moment that Jason Kreis keeps talking about
— Tyler Bailey (@TyBailey13) August 13, 2015
That moment, which is representative of a certain trend that Jason Kreis talked about a few weeks back, was the only egregious mental error committed by a player in a sky blue kit. While there were obviously other errors that had less of an impact, the fact that NYCFC wasn’t gifting their opponent chance after chance was both an improvement over weeks past and a necessary ingredient for success in the latter part of the season.
Another ingredient that featured prominently in last night’s winning recipe was consistent offensive production and chance creation from the midfield. New York City created 17 shots for themselves, putting nine of those on target while completing just under 70% of their passes in the final third. Andrea Pirlo was a large part of that, completing 86% of his 85 attempted passes while creating three chances and serving up an absolutely sublime assist on David Villa’s game-winning goal.
While Pirlo’s distributive work was on par with what fans will expect from the Italian maestro, the most complete individual performance from within a complete team performance came from none other than Kwadwo Poku. The Ghanaian attacker was everywhere for New York City, contributing a goal, an assisst, four other key passes, three interceptions, and four successful dribbles while showcasing the physicality of an NFL running back on the ball and causing match-up issues in the D.C. United defensive half.
The last time Kwadwo Poku got the start for NYCFC, he notched three assists in a 5-3 barnstorming win over Orlando City SC. He now leads the team with seven assists on the season, which is the sixth most in Major League Soccer. He’s done that in spite of the fact that he’s only started four games. Nobody above him on that list has started less than 15. Through seventeen matches this season, Poku is averaging 0.98 assists per 90 minutes, which is the highest rate in the league by a wide margin among players with significant minutes under their belts.
His effectiveness as a complement to David Villa and his importance to NYCFC’s attacking cohesion has become undeniable. Fans and analysts will be clamoring for him to see more minutes, as will his teammates.
If I’m Jason Kreis, I’m crunching the numbers and giving Kwadwo Poku another well-earned start against Columbus.
