NYCFC finishes brutal stretch in schedule, hosts Philadelphia Union

Jack Harrison was instrumental for NYCFC, breaking down the Union defense in a match between the sides at Talen Energy Stadium on April 14.(photo credit: Charlotte Thomas)

Another day, another match for New York City FC, who host a regional rival at Yankee Stadium for the second time in four days on Saturday.

The Boys in Blue welcome the Philadelphia Union for a meeting an hour past noon in what will be their sixth match in 20 days, a stretch in which the results have been less than ideal.

Of its first nine matches, each played a week apart on the weekends, NYCFC emerged victorious in five, losing just three and drawing once. In its past six matches, two of which coming midweek to form a pair of three match in 7 days stretches, the club has won twice, drawn twice and lost twice.

“A little bit,” said winger Jack Harrison when asked if the bulky schedule of late has affected the squad. “But I have a lot of belief in our side this year. A lot of strong players and anyone at any moment could step in and fulfill the roles so it keeps everyone on their toes and makes it difficult for (head coach) Patrick (Vieira).”

The Union was a victim of a refreshed NYCFC squad, suffering a 2-0 loss at home to the Boys in Blue, including that goal from David Villa, the striker launching a shot from midfield and seemingly effortlessly putting it past Andre Blake.

It was the first away win of the season for Saturday’s hosts but not the first time they’ve come out of a scrap with its visitors on the right side. The Bronx side has won three of its last four meetings with the Union, but none of those came at the end of such a brutal stretch of matches.

When the final whistle blows, any members of the team who haven’t been called up for international duty will have 11 days to rest until their next match, a trip across the Hudson River to face rivals New York Red Bulls in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup action at Red Bull Arena.

Another installment of the Hudson River Derby will be the last thing on the players’ minds, at least according to one of the team’s leaders.

“You can’t really look forward to the time off, you gotta take every game as it comes,” said goalkeeper Sean Johnson. “Every game is an opportunity to climb the table and you could talk to any guy in the locker room and the amount of games we have in a short amount of time, I don’t think anyone is complaining. … We die to play games. Training is one thing but games are where everybody likes to show up.”

NYCFC is five points atop the Union entering the match, so climbing up the table won’t be a guarantee if it wins, but preventing the opposition from creeping closer in the standings is something the Boys in Blue can control.

That starts with picking up points, something it did midweek against the New England Revolution but not in the way it wanted. With everything pointed towards a victory for the home side, the visiting Revolution managed to knack a late equalizer in the final four minutes of the match, stealing a point to take back to Foxborough.

Clearly frustrated, NYCFC isn’t letting the slip, which was reminiscent of last season’s early struggles, get in the way of preparing for the next match.

“Obviously it was a very frustrating game (against New England) and he was disappointed with the result,” Harrison said. “We wanted to the win and get in a situation where we could’ve won is even more disappointing … but at the same time, we have to get our heads back up and we have another game on Saturday and we have to be focused on that now.”