New York City FC traveled to Toronto on Saturday afternoon and appeared poised to take all three points against Toronto FC. That plan was foiled in the second half when Daniel Salloi got on the end of cross from Theo Corbeanu for the equalizer. While head coach Pascal Jansen did express his feelings on how NYC controlled the game, it was their vulnerability on the right side that frustrated him the most.
“You could see we were having difficulties controlling their right side,” said Jansen after the game. “That’s why we made substitutions. Unfortunately, we didn’t control that moment, didn’t get the basics right, let our guard down and they punished us for it. That’s a tough one to concede, because even though we were struggling to keep control on that side, it was unnecessary to concede the way that we did.”
NYC took the lead in the 29th minute when Nico Fernandez scored his 14th goal of the season. A shot from the top of the box made it’s way to Toronto’s shielded goalkeeper, finding the right side of the net. The goal came after solid control from City, who were hoping for a win to better solidify their playoff position in seventh place.
Jansen’s second half substitutes were certainly defensive in nature. Benie Traore came off for Raul Gustavo and Nico Cavallo made way for Kevin O’Toole. While it may have been the attempt to keep the game under control, it ended up handing Toronto the moment they needed to get back into the contest. For the remainder of the game, NYC continued to have difficulties as goalkeeper Matt Freese was needed to make several saves near the final whistle.
“They started to put more and more pressure on us,” said Jansen about Toronto late in the game. “Throughout the second half they had a little more possession and a little more control than we were aiming for. Overall, I think it was a fair one (result).”
The draw means that NYCFC is winless in their last six games. The only win came in the group stage of the Leagues Cup, a 2-0 win over Santos Laguna. Their MLS fortune has not been as fruitful as they haven’t taken three points in a game since July 25th, a 3-1 win over Chicago Fire. Next up is a rare Friday game as they return to Yankee Stadium to take on Nashville SC, the best team in the Eastern Conference.
photo from NYCFC