Gotham FC comes close, but ultimately loses to the Kansas City Current | OneFootball

A goal! NJ/NY Gotham FC finally got back on the scoresheet for the first time since the season opener away to Boston Legacy FC, but ended up losing 2-1 to the Kansas City Current. This marks the Bats' worst start to a season under Head Coach Juan Carlos Amorós, with just five points from five games in his fourth season at the club.

Again, it was an improvement on the previous game, much the same way the last match against the Orlando Pride was an improvement on the previous game against Denver Summit FC, but the result ultimately didn't match the performance.

This was a strong bounce-back game for the Current after a dire three-game stretch, which saw them score zero goals and earn zero points. There will still be questions about Head Coach Chris Armas as the performance was far from convincing at times, but it will help quiet the noise for a little bit, especially with an international break coming up. Sadly for the Bats, the loss will not quiet any concerns.

There is a long international break now, which can be a double-edged sword as the break might provide a good reset and way to wash off these frustrating first five games. It can also be annoying, given it seemed like Gotham may have found something in this game against Kansas City that they can't quite build on in the same way they would have had there been a game next week.

Gotham FC found the back of the net, but were short of the win

It was a little scary at first, for Kansas City very nearly got on the board just five minutes in. Debinha crossed the ball in from the right, and what initially looked like an easy catch for Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger turned into a chance for the Current. Defender Kayla Sharples got her head to it before Berger could catch and blasted the ball off the crossbar.

Then, in the 16th minute, Kayla Duran went down with a non-contact injury. While in a foot race with Temwa Chawinga, it seemed like she planted her right leg in just the wrong way and injured herself in the process. Tierna Davidson had to replace her shortly after, slotting into a center back role with Jess Carter moving over to right back. The club released a statement saying it is a suspected knee injury and that she will be evaluated once the team is back in New Jersey.

Despite this, Gotham pushed on and had one of their better attacking phases of play all season. A nice passing sequence in the 20th minute resulted in a Jaelin Howell shot that won the NJ/NY side a corner, and nine minutes later, Gotham scored the game's opening goal.

Jaedyn Shaw, back in the XI after missing the last three matches with injury, received the ball in the attacking third on the half-turn and then fired a long-range, low-driven shot through a maze of legs and past Lorena into the bottom corner of the goal to give Gotham the 1-0 lead and their first goal in 333 minutes of play.

Shortly thereafter, Kansas City started to find their footing. Croix Bethune dispossessed Rose Lavelle in the Current attacking third before finding Debinha, who put in a great first-time cross for Chawinga. The Malawian forward failed to get her foot to it.

Then, a few minutes later, in the 37th minute, they found the equalizer. Michelle Cooper found herself in acres of space on the right wing and served a ball into the box for Chawinga, who perfectly deadened the ball for Debinha. The Brazilian smashed it home unmarked to level the score.

Coming out of halftime, Gotham made a change that saw the goal scorer Shaw come off for rookie Jordynn Dudley, who made an immediate impact by winning a corner. Both teams had minor chances in the ensuing 15 or so minutes before the Current scored their second.

A long free kick from their own half landed on Lilly Reale's head but went right to Ally Sentnor, who found Cooper on the edge of the box. Cooper then got off an inch-perfect shot that went through Reale's legs and into the far corner to give Kansas City the 2-1 lead.

Then came a slightly odd and rare scenario where a player who had been subbed on was subbed off. Davidson, after coming on in the 18th minute, came off in the 62nd for Sarah Schupansky. Davidson is most likely still on a minutes restriction, which most likely means she was only available for around 45 minutes. She came off after 35 minutes, most likely in response to the goal to be more offensive.

Gotham's next big opportunity came in the 74th minute as Dudley's cross found Schupansky on the other wing, who had her shot blocked before the follow-up effort from Howell ended up going over the crossbar. The Current then nearly found a third less than ten minutes later, when Haley Hopkins got off a shot in the Bats' box that Berger managed to get down and get a hand to. It was a weaker shot than what Hopkins probably would have wanted, but Berger still did very well to be able to make the save.

Kansas City held onto the lead deep into stoppage time when Gotham earned a very late corner kick that Berger came up for. The ball came in and ended up finding Berger after a recycle, where she unleashed an unbelievable long-range strike that Lorena did well to save in what ended up being the last action of the match.

It was certainly a much better performance with the first half being their best half of the season by a pretty decent margin. They also produced their highest xG total of the season so far at 1.52, but conceded two goals on the day, with them both coming off a lapse in concentration and an uncharacteristic misplay from Reale. A lot of players were also still on minutes restrictions, which made navigating today's game perhaps a little more challenging, especially with Duran getting injured so early on.

There was optimism post-game from Shaw, Jess Carter, and acting Head Coach Shaun Harris that the overall attacking sequences of play were better, resulting in more shots and more chances, but ultimately frustrated that the result wasn't there. The progress from game to game is evident, and hopefully, they can carry it over to Gotham FC's next game despite the extended international break.