It took until his fifth game in charge, but New York City FC have their first MLS win of the Ronny Deila era. And now things can get rolling.
NYCFC beat Inter Miami 1-0 in their final group stage game of the MLS is Back Tournament, their first win after four league losses to start the season. While the roster brought great continuity, as an overwhelming majority of last season's key contributors returned, the rest of the sporting group went through an offseason transition.
Deila and his staff came in for former head coach Dome Torrent and his group, while David Lee was promoted to sporting director after Claudio Reyna departed for Austin FC in a deceptively busy offseason in New York City.
The squad is performing far from their peak and may yet be heading home after the group stage, but getting that first win may be a step in the right direction.
"To go through experiences like this makes us know each other in a better way," Deila told reporters on a video conference call after the game. "A new coach, new staff, new sporting director and new style of play. You need to experience things to build trust and safety together."
From the first day he took charge in January, Deila was asked incessantly what his preferred tactics would be, and the players queried on the differences between their current and former bosses.
In addition to the normal machinations surrounding the shakeup of the technical staff, the topic held plenty of intrigue since the club were undergoing another coaching change in a successful period.
When Torrent took over for Patrick Vieira in 2018, he revamped the squad's principles on the fly to his liking. There were growing pains and it took the better part of a year for results to truly show his vision, which ultimately was a successful one, crescendoing with NYCFC topping the Eastern Conference in the 2019 regular season. Deila inherited that squad and promised he wouldn't tear down the building to make foundational changes, which suggested to most fans a shorter time to endure those pesky growing pains.
The early performances were mixed. In the Concacaf Champions League, NYCFC eased past Costa Rica's San Carlos with six goals over two legs in the round of 16 then went toe-to-toe with Liga MX powerhouse Tigres UANL in leg one of the quarterfinals. That form didn't carry over to MLS, as the first two games of the season before the suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic brought a pair of 1-0 losses. It took until their fourth league game overall to score their first MLS goal, which came in their 3-1 loss to Orlando City SC last week.
“We’re still getting used to Ronny’s playing style," midfielder Keaton Parks said. "... It’s all coming together. Today, we performed really well and I think we’re getting the system down.”
That style has been predicated on a bit more defensive intensity, different pressing patterns and a bit more structure than previous years. The better parts of that ethos were on full display against Miami, restricting the expansion side to just 0.35 expected goals.
They're still leaving a bit to be desired on the attacking side of the ball, as Maxi Moralez — who did not start Monday's loss due to injury — and Valentin Castellanos have yet to register a goal contribution, while Heber and Alexandru Mitrita have yet to find the back of the net in league play.
“We’re still missing a lot," Parks said. "We’ve struggled with finishing throughout these games and we’re a team known for our goals. We have a lot to fix and work on. We’re happy with the win today but we’ve got to put it all together. … We must improve, but I think that comes with time.”
NYCFC may have bought themselves more time in Orlando, but nothing is decided yet. They've played all three group stage games and are neither eliminated nor throughout to the knockout rounds yet, awaiting other results to see if their three points and minus-two goal differential will be one of the four best third-place group totals.
Until then, it feels a lot better to be waiting with that first win under their belts.
“Today, the boys worked their asses off, I’m unbelievably proud," Deila said. "It’s a tough situation when you don’t win games to stay together, stick together and be a unit. That was very important.”
