New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen isn’t looking past lower division US Open Cup opponents Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Wednesday night, preparing for the game like he would any other. His team has momentum after two straight 1-0 wins and hopes to keep that confidence high as his team looks to duplicate the impressive run of last year’s reserve team cup campaign.
“We take this game just as seriously,” said Jansen to the media. “That’s a big part of who we are. Our preparation has to be spot on. We also realize this a big opportunity for them to get momentum in their league and shine in the US Open Cup.”
Pittsburgh Riverhounds are one of the more storied franchises in the USL Championship, US Soccer’s second division. The team is coached by veteran Bob Lily who has led the likes of Rochester Rhinos to lower division titles in 2015 and consistently had competitive teams throughout his professional career. This season the Riverhounds are celebrating their 25 anniversary and would love nothing more than to add an MLS team to their trophy cabinet in celebration.
Conversely, NYCFC are one of the toughest teams to play in MLS at the moment. Defensively they’ve only given up two goals in their last four games and have dynamic forwards like Julian Fernandez, Agustin Ojeda and Alonso Martinez at their disposal.
“We’ll take it game by game,” said Jansen when asked about potential team rotation. “FC Cincinnati is finished. Now we put our focus on this opponent. That will be the same after Wednesday night.”
City have an aggressive schedule in the month of May, having to play at minimum nine games depending on whether they advance in the US Open Cup. While the opportunity is great, Jansen and his staff know that rotation and discipline is necessary to continue the team’s momentum.
“We created a solid foundation from day one in our preparation in January. Getting players ready to play three games every seven or eight days is something we work towards daily. You have to keep in mind that we come back from a game this Sunday, now we travel on Tuesday, and we play again Wednesday night. It’s something we are ready to do.”
photo by Jordan Bank