New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen took a major risk when he substituted midfielder Keaton Parks in the second half of his team’s 2-2 draw against Nashville SC. At the time, the team was trailing 2-0 and needed an injection of energy. While Parks did provide that, he was coming off of a recent injury and hadn’t trained properly during the week according to the coach.
“It was a decision a little bit on the edge,” said Jansen about making the substitution. “Keaton (Parks) hasn’t had a proper training schedule for a while now. He was prepared to have some part in this game. We extended that part by bringing him in at halftime. Happy we did because his performance helped us get back into the match.”
Parks has been an essential part of City’s plans in 2025. The midfielder who has been with the club the majority of his professional career has seen his role grow from young signing on the outskirts to established starter. This game in particular showed just how important he is to the how the team connects the backfield with the offense.
The Texas-native had a part in both goals scored by Hannes Wolf. His interplay with Maxi Moralez also helped to unleash the best aspects of the veteran and push the offense into dangerous positions that lacked for a majority of the first half against Nashville. Parks wasn’t the only contributor as Strahinja Tanasijevic also made an impact. The Serbian defender showed his technic and gave a new look that was missing against Nashville’s attack.
“A big complement also to Strahinja (Tanasijevic),” said Jansen. “He hasn’t played for a while and he came on the pitch and brought the aggressiveness that we were missing in the first half.”
While recent results may not have gone the way NYC would have hoped, their comeback shows that there is still fight in the squad. A 2-0 deficit at halftime could have sunk most clubs but Jansen’s men took up the charge and were able to claw their way back into the contest. The loss and draw isn’t exactly what the team would have hoped for in the way of results. However, the progress of the club, with as many young players as they have, is something that can be built on in the weeks to come.
photo from NYCFC