New York City FC drops 1-0 road loss to FC CIncinnati
Courtesy: NYCFC
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City FC has suffered its fourth loss in five matches after falling 1-0 to FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium tonight. A 57th minute game-winning goal from Lucho Acosta made the difference for FC Cincinnati.
Here are three observations from New York City’s loss to Cincinnati tonight.
Early chance creation struggles
New York City did not generate much pressure in the final third in the first half, with only two shots and no shots on goal through the first 45 minutes. The momentum did shift closer to New York City’s favor towards the end of the half. The most dangerous opportunity of the half came in the 36th minute, with a quick counterattack finding Jullian Fernandez on the right side of the box - but his shot curled just wide of the far left post.
“In the first half, we had some good possession, but we just lacked that cutting edge in the final third with somebody that can stretch the line, somebody that can occupy the backline and somebody that was going to be in goal scoring positions,” head coach Nick Cushing said after the match.
New York City was without Mounsef Bakrar and Jovan Mijatovic due to international duty, which left head coach Nick Cushing to play Santi Rodriguez out of position at striker.
“I don't necessarily think it is difficult. I just think it changes the way that you play. You look at the way Mounsef plays, and how we're trying to develop Jovan into being a real threat for us - when you don't have those two guys available, it's difficult.”
Matt Freese makes several big stops
One bright spot from the opening whistle was Freese’s performance in goal, as he came up with two early saves in the first 11 minutes of the match. Freese’s biggest save came on the first shot of the match in the eighth minute, as he was able to stop Aaron Boupendza on a one-on-one opportunity that was set up by a through ball from Luca Orellano.
With New York City trailing 1-0 late, Freese came up with another difficult one-on-one save against Sergio Santos to keep Cincinnati from scoring the second goal of the match. Freese made one final point-blank stop on Acosta in the sixth minute of second half stoppage time to finish with five saves on six shots on goal in the match.
“Where teams are really direct and the style is really intense in the sense of transition and set play, you know your goalkeeper is gonna have to have a good game, because every time you come here there's going to be saves, and he's gonna have to keep you in the game in moments, because they're difficult places to come,” Cushing said. “Matt made some really good saves today. I think you've seen the best version of Matt today.”
Two second-half injury substitutions
New York City had to make a pair of injury substitutions during the match, as Birk Risa had to come off in the 52nd minute with an injury before Kevin O’Toole also had to leave the match in the 78th minute. After the match, Cushing gave an update on both players’ status.
“Birk Risa we knew going into the game he’s dealing with lower leg pain that we’re trying to manage. It’s not something that’s going to keep him off the training field or off the match pitch, but it is pain tolerant - and when it gets too painful, he can't continue,” Cushing said after the match. “We’re going to have to look at it. It's going to be something that's going to be managed over time.”
“Kevin O'Toole's [injury] looks like a concussion. He just got over the concussion they had last year, and for it to happen again is disappointing,” Cushing said.
Cushing added that O’Toole is going to enter the concussion protocol, with no exact timetable for a return.
Next Match
New York City FC will head back on the road for the second straight match with a trip to Fort Lauderdale to play Inter Miami next Saturday at 7:30 P.M. Inter Miami is coming off of a 4-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls this afternoon. Live radio commentary can be heard beginning at 7:15 P.M. on the New York City FC Network, with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence on the call.