BRONX, NY — As a unit NYCFC said rainy conditions and the turf at Yankee Stadium Wednesday evening were not a factor in their lackadaisical 3-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo. And they said losing on their second third leg of the schedule was no factor. Fatigue with a quick turnaround and three matches in a week? They said it was not a factor.
NYCFC as a unit said it was a poor 90 minutes or more on the pitch and not the pouring rain that had a slim and announced crowd of 17,070 looking for cover. Except for a loud and usual contingent in the left field seats there was not much to cheer about.
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Basically the momentum NYCFC built this past week with home wins at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, the rival Red Bulls (2-0) and Chicago (3-1) did not carry over with this loss. They did not play well and will attempt to regroup in a few days at Nashville as this rigorous stretch of games continues on their MLS schedule.
“The quality was missing today, so I just addressed that,” said coach Pascal Jansen. “That the quality wasn’t there. And like usual, 24 hours after a positive or a negative result is the next step, and all focus is on the next.”
He was asked if weather was a factor and said it was not an excuse. The level of play was poor. Houston was the better team and defended perfectly. Simple, NYCFC was not able to attack and when they tried there was effort. But overall it was poor play and fatigue was not a factor.
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“We should have played a lot quicker, a lot faster, a lot more aggressively. going for the attacks,” Jansen said. “You can see also today we didn’t create anything, nothing at all. So that is not because of the circumstances. That’s because of us.”
Then again NYCFC players said this is soccer, it can be rigorous. Though stamina is always a question with a schedule they have confronted. Baseball is played everyday, different on the legs. On the other hand an MLS season at times will have contests in bunches. Though, no excuses as they said.
Houston (5-6-5, 20 points) went ahead in the 26th minute on an own goal from New York defender Justin Haak. Gabriel Segal got it going and extended the Dynamo’s lead in the 50th minute, then added an exclamation point with a penalty kick four minutes into second-half stoppage time.
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This wasn’t the NYCFC team that was more aggressive and defensive as the momentum built leading to this one.
“We lacked a bit of rhythm; we were a little slow,” said forward Julián Fernández. “That’s how football is, these things happen. We had been doing very well, and now we have a chance to bounce back on Saturday. So we have to keep our heads up and continue doing what we’ve been doing well over the past two weeks.”
He said about the loss of momentum, “No, I don’t think it does. In football, this can happen. We can have a bad game, but the team is doing well and is mentally strong. I think we’ll show that on Saturday.”
And the feeling around NYCFC as has been with their first year coach, this team will rebound Saturday. Young as they are, mixed with a few veterans, overall they have played aggressive and had a share of second half comebacks, though not against a Houston defense that stopped their momentum.
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The last time NYCFC was held scoreless at home was May 10, against CF Montréal at Yankee Stadium 1-0. So going without a goal in the Bronx and a loss is rare. Though this is the second time in a row in the series where New York City has been held scoreless against Houston.
“Don’t think the weather was a factor,” said Tayvon Gray. “Think it hurts (loss) right now, tomorrow we will forget. The effort was good.” He said the quick turnaround may be a factor but provides time to quickly get things right for the next one.
“We need to work on what happened today,” said Thiago Martins, who had been a major factor against the Red Bulls and Chicago. “We are prepared for that schedule. Need to perform the same way. We need to move forward.”
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On to Tennessee and back to the Bronx June 12th. They get some time from a hectic schedule. Good thing is many more to play on the pitch and if the season concluded today NYCFC would be in playoff position with a good seed in the eastern conference.
Leave that though for the months ahead. NYCFC offered no excuses about this loss and that’s the good thing.
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and contributor at LatinoSports.com – X: @Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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