BRONX, N.Y. – It’s the same old story.
New York City FC start brilliantly, grab an early lead and then let defensive lapses turn a bright start into an ending that leaves too much to be desired.
That aptly described their thrilling, 4-4 draw with Toronto FC on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. After vaulting to a 2-0 lead, New York surrendered a Sebastian Giovinco hat trick within a nine-minute span and were forced to fight back for a share of points in front of their lively home crowd.
After the game, head coach Jason Kreis said his team’s all-too common defensive lapses, which in this case spoiled a David Villa brace, need to stop.
“We’re creating attacking chances, creating goal-scoring chances and taking goals, but for whatever reason seems to be a moment every game we just stop,” Kreis told reporters.
Kreis said that moment Sunday happened when Giovinco scored on a penalty kick – the second of a league record four total PKs called in the game – to cut NYCFC’s lead to 2-1 in the 34th minute.
“I think a lot of guys hung their heads at that moment and said, ‘Here we go again.’ That’s not a good enough reaction, and we’ve got to continue to strive to improve because we need to be able to put 90 minutes together,” Kreis said. “… One of the things that you need to have to be successful in this league is consistency in the back four, and that is a big reason for our inconsistencies.”
There’s no doubt that Giovinco put on a clinic on Sunday. His movements off the ball, the timing of his runs, his ability to toe the defensive line are all attributes that make him one of the league’s biggest, if not the biggest, attacking threat.
But New York City FC said they can do better, that they have done better – namely in a 2-0 win over the same team just three weeks ago. And the absence of veteran central back Jason Hernandez was sorely felt, as the pairing of Kwame Watson-Siriboe and Shay Facey was caught out time and again.
“I think Giovinco is a fantastic player; I’m not trying to take anything away from him, but for that player, that we know, to get that kind of time and space is incomprehensible,” Kreis said. “We’ve got to take a hard look at ourselves to see why that kept happening. Jason is a critical player for us; he’s a veteran that communicates. When he’s not in there we have issues.”
The fact that New York City FC’s backline is thin is no mystery. And there were positives in the debuts of fullbacks Andoni Iraola and Angelino, who both impressed in their first outings for the club. Iraola, a 33-year-old with more than 500 appearances for Athletic Bilbao prior to joining NYCFC last week, adds a much-needed veteran presence to the backline.
But there are only three center backs on the roster, and while the team is reveling in the signings of big-name midfielders Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo, they know the defense is a concern.
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“Our awareness and our spacing was a bit off,” said goalkeeper Josh Saunders. “When you transition new guys into it, its tough. The awareness of who is close to you and who isn’t, our communications a bit off today. That played into Giovinco getting the chances he got.
“We need the guys we have to step up when given the chance, to grow into leaders,” Saunders continued. “Our ability to sniff out plays and cut down on transition is going to be key for us. Look at the players have, going forward we’re going to be amazing, but at same time we need to be able to put pressure on the ball and limit chances on the counter.”
What made Saturday’s result so frustrating for NYCFC was that a little less than a month ago the team did a great job of containing the diminutive goal scorer.
“I think we did a very good job last time of keeping him out of the game, and getting tight and not letting him get a flow,” defender Chris Wingert said. “You can’t give a guy like that chances, he’ll bury you. He’s a killer. He buried us multiple times, and a lot of that was on us.”
