Winless streak continues for New York City FC in a 1-1 draw agianst DC United
Courtesy: New York City FC
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City FC are now winless in seven MLS matches after a 1-1 draw against DC United at Audi Field tonight. Both goals came on penalty kicks, as Santi Rodriguez opened the scoring for New York City in the 32nd minute before Christian Benteke answered for DC United in the 67th minute.
Here are three observations from tonight’s match.
New York City FC controls first half run of play
New York City dictated much of the play in the first half, finishing with a 5-4 edge in shots (2-1 advantage in shots on goal) and 63.4 percent of the possession through the first 45 minutes.
While New York City ultimately did not score from open play, they created several key chances in the first half.
The closest chance came in the 45th minute, when Alonso Martinez found the back of the net after getting on the end of a through ball from James Sands in the penalty area. Martinez was slightly offside on the play, disallowing the goal and ultimately keeping New York City from leaving DC with all three points.
“I thought we were top in the first half,” head coach Nick Cushing said after the match. “Of course, the evolution of our team [and] the development of this group is to go in at half time [up] 2-0 [or] 3-0, because the play was exceptional.”
Rodriguez delivers from the spot again
The pivotal point in the match came in the 30th minute, when New York City earned a penalty kick as Kevin O’Toole was fouled by Pedro Santos inside the area. Rodriguez stepped up to take the penalty kick - and he beat DC goalkeeper Alex Bono with a panenka to open the scoring in the 32nd minute. It was Rodriguez’s 12th goal of the year across all competitions, with two of his last three goals coming from the penalty spot.
Second half penalty ultimately costs New York City
After taking a 1-0 lead off of a penalty kick in the first half, a penalty at the other end would ultimately cost New York City the full three points. In the 62nd minute, Sands arrived late on a sliding challenge on Aaron Herrera on the left edge of the penalty area. After a VAR review, the penalty kick was awarded - and Christian Benteke converted to level the match in the 64th minute.
The penalty gave a lifeline to a DC team that struggled to create quality chances, as DC United generated only 0.18 expected goals in the 64 minutes before Benteke’s equalizer.
“[With] the mentality of our team and the hunger and desire of our team, it definitely feels like two points dropped, because one, we want to win, we want to solidify our league position, and we want to continue to show improvement like we have all year,” Cushing said.
Next Up
New York City FC will return to the five boroughs on Wednesday night for a match against the Philadelphia Union at Yankee Stadium. The Union will come into the Bronx off of a 3-1 road loss to Inter Miami.
“I've been in [the league] five seasons, and those guys in that locker room, like James Sands, Maxi Moralez, Keaton Parks has been around, Tavon Gray has been around this league - they know that the last six, five, four, three games are playoff games, because everybody is pushing. Everybody within distance is pushing,” Cushing said.
Live radio coverage will begin at 7:15 p.m., with Glenn Crooks and Matty Larence on the call at newyorkcityfc.com/radio or the Apple TV Home Radio feature.