By Chris Tsakonas
New York City moved back into playoff position tonight after splitting the points with Atlanta United in a 2-2 draw at Mercedes Benz Stadium. The Pigeons’ goals came from Matthew Edwards off an own goal and Andres Perea, while Giuseppe Galoppo and Ajani Fortune scored for Atlanta United.
Here are three observations from tonight’s match.
New York City capitalize early
It only took five minutes for the Pigeons to hit the front, and it came in quick transition.
Agustin Ojeda got it started by getting on the end of a long ball towards the right flank and then playing a cross into the middle. Andres Perea was the intended target, but the ball was deflected off the outstretched foot of defender Matthew Edwards and into the back of the net for an own goal.
It was New York City’s second-earliest goal this season, and it gave them an early lead on the road.
Defensive miscues cost New York City
From the opening whistle, New York City looked shaky at the back. Just seconds into the match, a back pass to goalkeeper Tomas Romero faced heavy pressure from Atlanta United and nearly led to a costly turnover and an opening goal.
It was a harbinger of things to come, as New York City would concede twice due to defensive miscues. The first goal came in the 10th minute, as a corner kick to the back post was headed back across goal by Tomas Jacob to set up the first equalizer from a wide open Galoppo.
New York City led 2-1 late in the second half when another miscue cost them. Luke Brennan played a ball into the middle of the box where it found Tristan Muyumba, who laid it off for Fortune. The shot was fairly weak and low, but it deflected off the diving hand of Romero and trickled into the back of the net.
“It’s a clear shot in the middle of the goal, and that should have been a save,” head coach Pascal Jansen said after the match. “It’s very unfortunate, but yeah, that one is on Tomas. He should have made the save. It’s as simple as that.”
Ojeda and Perea connect on second goal
The late defensive miscue came after New York City did a great job to set up the go-ahead goal in the 57th minute. Ojeda collected the ball on the right flank again, and rolled a ball to the middle of the penalty area. Perea got on the end of it this time and found the back of the net for the Pigeons’ second goal of the night.
“His personal growth is very impressive. He is an attacking player at this moment in time that has a lot of impact, which takes a little bit of weight off the shoulders of Nico [Fernandez Mercau],” Jansen said. “It also gives guys like Luighi, Benie [Traore] and Alonso [Martinez] time to grow into it, and hopefully they can share the responsibility at some point.”
Next Up
New York City will not play next week as the international break continues, and the Pigeons will return to play the following Saturday, Oct. 10 to face the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field. Live radio commentary from Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence will get underway at 8:15 p.m. at newyorkcityfc.com/radio.
