NYCFC returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time this season and defeated DC United 4-1, answering many questions about the club’s ability to win on a smaller pitch and dispelling doubts about their recent run of form.
It was a stellar performance but the news was bitter sweet as the club announced the departure of a key player in Alexandru Mitriță on Thursday morning.
NYCFC looked dominant from the start connecting on crisp passes and controlling the tempo against a Ben Olsen squad content to absorb pressure and counter if they could. As in the past several matches, NYCFC struck first in the fourth minute as Valentine Castellanos was brought down in the box and slotted home the ensuing penalty kick.
As the soccer gods giveth, though, they also taketh away, and in the twelfth minute, Castellanos committed a hand ball in his own box and Ola Kamara leveled the game 1-1.
The game remained level until after the first half when Ismael Tajouri-Shradi would prove why the team needs him in the starting eleven scoring off a beautiful pass into the box from Anton Tinnerholm and then again off another penalty kick.
At 3-1 the game was seemingly over but NYCFC would add another goal for good measure. With Gudmundur Thorarinsson making a beautiful cross into a streaking Keaton Parks who headed it home.
Head Coach Ronny Deila seemed pleased to finally be back home. “We miss the fans of course. If we get them in here, it’ll be great. We have to make our own atmosphere and I think the boys did that really good in the second half today. It can be easy to drop a little bit down and get quiet and we could have had problems today, but we pushed the tempo in the second half and that was good.”
The mood after a good result was tempered Thursday morning as the club announced the loan of one of their designated players, Alexandru Mitriță, to Al-Ahli Saudi FC until January 31, 2022. The Saudi club will have the option to buy Mitriță at the end of the loan effectively ending his time at NYCFC.
Mitriță was released to play for the Romanian national team this week and also made the move for personal reasons to be with his wife. The couple are expecting a baby soon and travel restrictions had been keeping them apart this year.
New York City FC Sporting Director, David Lee, said: “Due to Mitri’s personal circumstances during this pandemic, we felt it was the best move for all parties at this time to loan him to Al-Ahli. He’s certainly a player we believe in and has helped us win football matches in the past 18 months. We do not know how long these travel restrictions will last, so from a human perspective, we wanted to respect his wishes to be closer to his family.
“Due to New York State Guidelines and MLS protocol, Mitri would have been subject to mandatory quarantines following returns from the October FIFA window as well as a likely November FIFA window.
“Given the current fixture list, he would have missed the majority of NYCFC’s remaining 2020 regular season matches as well as a number of potential playoff games. This loan allows Mitriță to continue playing competitive football while also attending to family matters which we know are a priority for him.
“We are extremely confident in the roster of players we have and are on a fantastic run of form at the moment. Our aim as always will be to challenge for the MLS Cup and we certainly believe we have a group of players and a coaching staff that can do this.’’
The club certainly proved they could win without Mitriță on Wednesday night and will look to give further evidence of Lee’s faith on Sunday when the New England Revolution come to town.
