NYCFC fall 1-0 to Houston Dynamo
Courtesy: NYCFC
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City FC couldn’t find the back of the net in a 1-0 loss at the hands of the Houston Dynamo at Shell Energy Stadium tonight. Amine Bassi had the only goal on a penalty kick in the 55th minute.
“The aim wasn't to be passive,” head coach Nick Cushing said in the post match press conference. “The aim was to create chances and win the game, and I think when they sat low, we didn't open them up well enough.”
The first half didin’t feature much in the way of attacking opportunities, and both teams went to the half time locker room with no shots on goal. Houston posed the most danger in the 24th minute, when a giveaway under pressure led to a breakaway for Brooklyn Raines - narrowly missing to the right.
New York City looked to answer in the 38th minute, when Santi Rodriguez set up Talles Magno on a quick counter for a shot that was blocked from the right side of the 18.
Houston broke through early in the second half. After a foul was called on Tayvon Gray during a VAR review, Amine Bassi stepped up to the spot, and beat Luis Barraza to the left to give Houston the 1-0 lead in the 55th minute. The decision faced sharp criticism from Cushing after the match.
“I think the reason they didn't give it in the moment is because it's not a penalty,” Cushing said of the decision. “It was really, really soft, and if we're going to decide football games on those decisions, then the game should be a draw.”
It was nearly a quick response for New York City, when James Sands found Rodriguez along the left side. Despite beating the keeper, Rodriguez missed wide right.
New York City kept trying to break through into the final third, and in the first minute of added time, Thiago Martins found Tayvon Gray at the top of the area, but the shot was saved by Dynamo keeper Steve Clark.
Despite the loss, one notable takeaway from this match was the debut of new signing Richie Ledezma, who came on for Gabriel Pereira in the 68th minute.
“He goes in and shows that he has quality but he hasn't trained with us enough to know how to play and where to play,” Cushing said. “[When] we're chasing the game, it's difficult for him to have any kind of influence in the game.”
With the defeat, New York City FC now look towards a Saturday night matchup with the New England Revolution in Massachusetts, where they’ll look for their first road victory of 2023.