It’s been a slow start out of the gate in MLS for the MLS Cup 2021 champions, as New York City FC have now dropped consecutive matches following a 2-1 defeat to Toronto FC at BMO Field Saturday afternoon.
For the second straight outing, the Cityzens conceded a pair of first-half goals, as an early strike from Jesús Jimenez and a Thiago Martins own goal handed Toronto a 2-0 advantage before a late consolation goal from Héber halved the deficit.
Considering they recently booked their spot in the Concacaf Champions League semifinals for the first time in their history, this may seem like an odd question to ask. But with just four points from five league matches (1W-3L-1D record), is there real cause for concern in New York?
“We scored today, one goal, we could’ve scored a couple more, we should’ve had a penalty,” said head coach Ronny Deila postgame. “So, in a way you can’t expect to have eight, nine, 10 goal chances every time. That happens maybe once or twice a year. … When you get four, five, six chances like we had today, you have to create more when you get those chances.”
After scoring the fourth-most goals in MLS a year ago, NYCFC have struggled to find the back of the net in league play early on, having been held off the scoresheet in three out of their five matches so far. It would’ve been four Saturday had it not been for Héber’s 92nd-minute tally.
While they need to be more clinical in front of goal, Deila sees positive signs within the group in terms of the overall identity they’re building towards.
“You see in our culture in the group that really wants to win and never give up,” he said. “That’s something that gives me joy and belief for the future. I talked a lot about sticking together and finishing the game whatever. 4-0 up or 2-0 down, finish the game, do your tasks. That’s what made us champions. That’s going to be very important now if we’re going to keep winning football games and keep going in the Champions League.”
It’s worth mentioning that NYCFC have been presented with many challenges to begin the season, including the thousands of air miles they’ve logged. They've already made stops in Toronto, Costa Rica, California, Guatemala, Vancouver and back to New York, not to mention preseason camp in Mexico.
But they’ll need to adjust and be ready for another cross-country trip on Wednesday as they’ll travel to Lumen Field to take on Seattle Sounders FC in the first leg of the CCL semifinals.
Midfielder Keaton Parks is relishing the opportunity to bounce back quickly after back-to-back losses in league play.
“Having a packed schedule is really nice, especially if you get a bad result. It’s nice to just turn around and have something else to look forward to and to get a good result,” Parks said after Saturday’s match. “So, having another game in four days is really nice. I think we had a lot of positives, especially in the second half, so we’re looking to carry that onto the next game for sure.”
