By Chris Tsakonas
New York City is now winless in the last four MLS matches after a 1-1 road draw against Toronto FC at BMO Field tonight. Nico Fernandez Mercau opened the scoring for the Pigeons, while Daniel Salloi equalized for Toronto in the second half.
Here are three thoughts from tonight’s draw.
New York City hang on through slow start
From the opening whistle, New York City struggled to turn its possession advantage into scoring chances. While Toronto FC let the Pigeons hold most of the ball, that didn’t stop them from taking advantage on the other end with four shots in the first 25 minutes.
The best of those chances came in the 24th minute, when Benjamin Kuscevic got a free header at the near post off a corner kick that went well over the crossbar.
Pigeons strike against the run of play
In the 29th minute, New York City flipped the script. Fernandez Mercau collected the ball about 30 yards out from goal, and he fired a powerful, low shot inside the left post to give the Pigeons the lead.
It snapped a six-match scoring drought for Fernandez Mercau, who is now third in the MLS Golden Boot race with 14 goals on the season.
The goal ultimately didn’t generate much momentum for New York City attack, as it ended up being the only shot on goal in the entire first half
New York City rue missed chances
When the second half got underway, New York City had a pair of dangerous chances to double the lead.
In the 47th minute, Nico Fernandez Mercau whipped a corner into the middle to find Luighi – but he fired the ball over the crossbar. Four minutes later, Benie Traore played a ball into the middle for Andres Perea four minutes later, but he also missed the target high and wide to the right.
In the 70th minute, Toronto made New York City pay for those misses. It started in transition, as Alonso Coello played a long ball down the right side to find Theo Corbeanu in space on the flank. Corbeanu played it across the box, where Salloi connected at the back post to beat Freese and level the match at one.
“We didn’t get the basics right in that moment,” New York City manager Pascal Jansen said after the match. “[We] let down our guard, they punished us for that moment, and that was a tough one to concede because even though we were struggling with keeping control on that side, it was unnecessary to concede the way we did in the 70th minute.”
Next Up
New York City FC will return to the five boroughs on Friday night, when they host Nashville SC at Yankee Stadium. Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence will have the call from the Bronx at 7:15 p.m. at newyorkcityfc.com/radio or the Apple TV home radio feature.
