The little moments matter for NYCFC verses Nashville

New York City FC remains unbeaten in its last five MLS Regular Season home matches against Nashville SC, but the 0-0 draw at home came with mixed emotions for coaches and players as the team rides a seven game winless streak across all competitions.

The game was lively and each team had moments. Nashville had the best chance on the night. Hany Mukhtar missed a sitter in the first half with the goal wide open after a miscommunication between Mat Freese and Raul Gustavo. New York City had two really big chances that were near misses as well, but Neither club was able to find the back of the net. For New York City coach Pascal Jansen it all came down to the team not being able to make the most of their moments.

“I think overall we did a very good job today [against Nashville SC], given the fact that you are
playing against the best team in the League at this moment in time. We limited their chances,
and the moments they did get were predominantly from set pieces… Overall, we’re trying to
build momentum by scrapping points together, but also realizing that we were in very good
positions in previous games and still gave them away. That is sometimes a little hard to avoid
because you have two or three moments in a game to get yourself on the scoresheet. Maybe
you think there’s more in it and forget what it takes in the final stage of the game to make sure
you don’t concede as well.”

He went on to say that in good games between good teams it is the little moments that matter. The team has been missing out on those moments of late. After riding an initial surge of good form following the World Cup, the club has been plagued by injuries to key players and their results have dropped in the process of dealing with those injuries. Perhaps the worst example of that was the last home game agains Philadelphia when the team gave up three second half goals after being up 2-0 at half.

But there have been other games as well where the team has not been able to hold onto an early lead and has let three points slip through their grasp. There is hope, however. NYCFC have not lost in three games, two on the road against New England and Toronto and then Friday’s match against Supporter Shield favorites Nashville and players are starting to return from their injuries. Friday night marked the first time in four months Adien O’Neal was back on the pitch and the first time in nine months that goal scorer Alonso Martinez made the team sheet.
Jansen was visibly relieved to have one of his Australian internationals back.

“You could see the relief…He stepped onto the pitch today like he had played last week. You can
see the trust the team has in him, and that’s what quality does. It’s the same when you see
[Midfielder] Keats [Keaton Parks] playing again over the past couple of weeks. They’re able to
calm things down, play naturally in midfield, and settle the team. You saw that immediately with Aiden in the 20 or 25 minutes he played today. This is what the team needs, but we also have to respect the fact that sometimes players get injured and we have to be patient while they work their way back.”

Perhaps that is what the fans have to do as well; be patient and wait while the team works its way back from injury and wades through all the trauma of missed chances and untaken opportunities. If NYCFC can get healthy and start to turn it around against New England on Wednesday at home they may be heating up at the right time to make a run in the playoffs.