NYCFC extends unbeaten streak to seven in 0-0 draw at Montreal
Courtesy: NYCFC
By Chris Tsakonas
Coming into tonight’s match between New York City FC and CF Montreal, one common trait between the two sides was the attacking success: the two clubs led the Eastern Conference in goals per game.
However, it was the defense that made the difference for NYCFC in this one, as they held on for a 0-0 road draw in a match where they were outshot 13-2 and out-possessed 58.8 to 41.2 percent.
“I’m really, really happy to come here and take away a point,” interim head coach Nick Cushing said after the match. “This is an incredibly difficult place to come, they’re a really good team and at home they play really good football; and we expected that.”
Montreal got the first scoring opportunity of the match in the 12th minute, as Samuel Piette delivered a cross into the box that resulted in a miss at the left post from Kamal Miller.
Despite holding most of the possession, Montreal wouldn’t get another shot until the 30th minute. A corner kick led to a glancing header that redirected towards the back post, where Romell Quioto got a clean header from the edge of the six that went over the bar.
New York City faced an injury issue late in the first half, as Maxi Moralez had to come off for Thiago Andrade in the 40th minute while dealing with a calf issue.
“We don’t think it’s very serious,” Cushing said after the match, “He was disappointed to come off and didn’t want to, but we just protected him, because what we didn’t want to do is lose him for a greater period.”
Djordje Mihailovic forced Sean Johnson into the first save of the game in the 42nd minute with a shot from the middle of the area. It ended up being the only shot on goal from either side in the entire match.
When both teams went into the halftime break, it was CF Montreal who found themselves in control of the run of play. Through the opening 45 minutes of play, Montreal had the only shot on goal, and an 8-0 advantage in total shots with 57 percent of the possession.
“Of course we want to be better with the ball, we want to be more offensive,” Cushing said. “But the nature of this league is: when you don’t play well, take points. ”
The best chance of the match came in the 55th minute, when Quioto squared a ball across the six for Mason Toye. Despite having the far post open, Toye missed the net altogether by firing the shot over the crossbar.
On the other end, New York City got their only shot of the match in the 61st minute. Gabriel Pereira navigated away from pressure and laid it off for Thiago Andrade, who pulled a shot wide of the lower left post from about 30 yards out.
New York City are now unbeaten in their last seven matches following tonight’s draw, sitting three points behind the East-leading Philadelphia Union with a game in hand. The road trip continues on Saturday, as NYCFC head to Ohio to play a Columbus Crew team that has not lost since May 21st.