New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen wasn’t happy with his team’s result which saw the club surrender a two-goal lead in the final 30 minutes of the game against Atlanta United FC. Saturday’s game at Mercedes Benz Stadium was nearly within grasp for the Dutch manager who saw his team play effective football for the first 60 minutes.
“There’s a phase where we switch off defensively,” said Jansen after the game. “We allow them to get crosses into the box and we don’t defend the box well enough like we did last week in Columbus and you get punished for a few errors made.”
The downfall started in the 62nd minute when a pass into the box hit the foot of midfielder Keaton Parks and was deflected in for an own goal. Atlanta grew into the game from there, pushing their star players like Miguel Almiron and Emmanuel Latte Lath into more confident situations. It took less than 20 minutes later for Atlanta to find the equalizer.
City did little in response. Substitutes Agustin Ojeda and Mounsef Bakrar had little affect in the game. In the 84th minute it was Lath that sealed the fate of NYC when he scored the game-winner. The loss sees City scrape only one point out of two road games. The game in Columbus was a tough defensive showing but the Atlanta game showcased a major problems in the team’s inability to close out their strong performances.
“We controlled the game in many, many parts,” said winger Hannes Wolf. “If you score three goals away, you should be able to take the points, because how many how many times do you score three goals away? But we didn’t, and it’s very hard to take, to be honest.”
In many ways City have been a difficult team to understand. Their offensive strength is undeniable. When Wolf connects with Alonso Martinez and team legend Maxi Moralez, they become one of the more difficult teams to defend against. At the same time, their defensive shape is not something they can keep consistent for 90 minutes. This means that clubs will get their moments and feel confident that they can get something out of the contest.
Next week against a tough Minnesota team will be an early season test of epic proportions. Yankee Stadium has been a haven for NYC who have played their best soccer at home. A full 90 minute performance can set them straight for the season but a loss could see their spiral continue with shattered confidence.
photo by Jordan Bank