Two more players went down with injuries, another will be lost to suspension, and the winless streak extended to six games following a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Fire Friday night.
But New York City FC is keeping the faith.
“I thought we put in an incredible amount of work into the match again, which we’ve done the past three or four matches, yet come up with nothing again point-wise,” midfielder Ned Grabavoy said. “It’s difficult because we’re going through a tough stretch and not getting any results. Maybe we’re finding out a lot about ourselves as individuals and maybe that’s the most important thing going forward.”
NYCFC endured a nightmare and game-altering three-minute stretch midway through the first half Friday night. A miscue by goalkeeper Ryan Meara, filling in for starter Josh Saunders who served a one-game suspension stemming from a sliding challenge against Portland, led to the first MLS goal by Chicago Fire Designated Player David Accam.
Three minutes later, the expansion team was reduced to 10 men when Andrew Jacobson was sent off by referee Ricardo Salazar for a tackle from behind on Accam. It was the midfielder’s first career red card.
Compounding matters further, in a four-minute span later in the half, coach Jason Kreis was forced to make a pair of substitutions for injuries as Patrick Mullins came on for Adam Nemec (ankle) in the 34th minute and Matthew Dunn made his NYCFC debut when he replaced Javier Calle (hamstring) in the 38th minute.
Nemec and Calle join regular starters David Villa (hamstring), Jason Hernandez (calf), and Josh Williams (adductor) among the walking wounded.
But the positives were there, albeit hard to see on the surface. New York didn't concede a second goal while the insurgent Fire pressed to close the first half. Instead, they settled down, kept their shape, and made things difficult for home team. There was even the threat of an equalizer just before halftime on the break through a Mehdi Ballouchy volley that forced Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson into a diving save.
“It’s just managing the game,” defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe said. “I think with our coaching staff, they’re very good at managing the game and managing players. So we just wanted to make sure we manage the game and get into halftime without conceding more goals, and go from there.”
To his credit, Meara, on a season-long loan from the New York Red Bulls, responded well to his first half blunder, ending the game with six saves, one shy of a career high. His best saves came late, first denying Accam a brace on a diving header from close range, and following up the ensuing corner with another quick-reflex double save to keep the Fire from adding an elusive insurance goal.
“Ryan, in particular, in the second half made quite a few spectacular plays, and some of the other defenders made desperation tackles to save things,” Kreis said.
NYCFC were held scoreless for a fourth time this season and suffered a 1-0 defeat for a second consecutive game. After playing four games in 13 days, NYCFC will get a much needed rest before stepping back on the field against Seattle May 3 at Yankee Stadium.
“I want to stay positive, believe in our coaching staff and I think things will start falling our way,” Watson-Siriboe said. “But we have to continue to work. Everything will be ok.”
