After Wednesday’s last-minute loss to Toronto FC New York City Football Club faced some tough questions about their inability to score goals even in a game they dominated in possession and almost every other statistic. They even lost their star striker, Heber, to a season ending ACL tear. Where were the goals going to come from? Why is it that NYCFC lag on offense and let opponents stay in games? Against FC Cincinnati on Saturday night the boys in blue answered those questions and did it in quick order cruising to a 4-0 victory over the visiting team.
Scoring the quickest goal in NYCFC history, Alexandru Mitriță put the ball in the back of the net just thirty seconds into the match off a great pass by Anton Tinnerholm. Mitriță has been in and out of the starting line up this year and Ronny Deila found a new position for him in the line up at the number ten role. The change worked well, giving NYCFC the creative presence in the attacking midfield and allowing Mitriță to focus on what he does well and not have to come back as much to provide defensive support on the wing. He would add another goal to his tally just before half to drive a nail into Cincinnati’s coffin.
Sandwiched between Mitriță’s goals, Anton Tinnerholm made his case for the best attacking right back in MLS by deftly slotting home a his third goal of the season off a neat overlapping run with Ismael Tajouri-Shradi. At halftime the game was out of reach and over.
The second half proved more even as NYCFC tired a bit but they were able to add another goal just before the end of regulation off a nice free kick by Jesus Medina.
NYCFC looked dominant from the start and showed great resolve to bounce back from the staggering last-minute defeat they suffered on Wednesday. They were crisp in the attack and potent in taking advantage of the chances they created. Cincinnati looked a bit lost at times and truly had no answer from the get go. By the end of the game all they could do was foul and let NYCFC proceed on with the victory.
The game came as a huge relief for head coach Ronny Deila. He spoke after the game about the additions of Mitriță and Tajouri-Shradi into the line up. “I think it speaks for itself that they played well. Mitriță played really well in the #10 role. Isi worked good and was involved on the front end on the right side. We were more effective tonight than we have been in the other games. When you score early, it is easier to get more goals. The whole team performance was really good. We didn’t give them anything, keep on holding clean sheets, and then when we start scoring as well then that’s another step in the right direction.”
The only downside to the win was a “knock” suffered by Alex Ring in the first half, but Deila said it was nothing serious and that he should be ready for the next game in Miami. If the team can come out an play they way they did on Saturday then that should be quite a fun game to watch indeed.
