NYCFC holds league leaders Nashville SC to a draw but extends winless streak | OneFootball

Hello, darkness.  At least, that is what it feels like for New York City FC when they are in the middle of a winless streak.  They already had one earlier in the season, when they were without a win in seven Major League Soccer games.  This time, they entered the match against Nashville SC without a win in five MLS fixtures.

Sadly, the winless streak is now at six games. However, NYCFC held Nashville to a 0-0 draw, which is not terrible. But from the perspective of the winless streak, it kind of is.

As a reminder, the Music City team is really good this season.  They had two losses and had 52 points entering Friday’s meeting. Nashville has no issue beating other top sides, like Inter Miami CF.  Plus, they have already beaten the Bronx side. Notably, they are doing this without the big-name players that convince others to go to games.  Rather, players have turned into MLS stars.

Therefore, NYCFC knew they had a mountain to climb.  Most fans wanted a win, but they knew that there was a high likelihood of ending the 90 minutes with a loss.

NYCFC competed with Nashville SC

From the moment the game began, NYCFC showed they could compete with their opponents.  Their actual play was solid.  The difference, though, was the quality in the final third.  Nashville played at a higher level there, putting pressure on the home side’s defense.

It was not like NYCFC was completely outshot in the attack.  They had chances, and by a third of the way through the match, actually had five shots compared to Nashville’s three.  But the golden team continuously crowded the box, where it felt like they would score at any minute.  The Boys in Blue had to be perfect in the backline, which, thankfully, they were.

And when Nicolás Fernández Mercau had the ball, it always felt like magic was just around the corner.  Many of his passes, and really his work rate in the midfield, set NYCFC up for offensive chances.

So, again, the Pigeons worked diligently to keep themselves in the match, and even had a little luck at the end of the first half when miscommunication between Matt Freese and Raul Gustavo led to an open net for Hany Mukhtar.  Thankfully, the soccer gods came into play, for the Nashville star hit the top bar of the goal.

As the match progressed, Nashville became even more threatening in front of the goal.  Arguably, they were the better team out of the locker room for the second half, and this time, they outshot the Pigeons.

Within the first five minutes, it felt like it was going to be one of those games that NYCFC lost out on any points. But both Freese’s save in the 48th minute and James Sands’ block in the 49th kept Sam Surridge out of the goal.  Those critical moments kept the story from turning into a horror story.

Thankfully, things settled down a little bit, but NYCFC had to maintain a tight backline, which they mostly did.  The problem, though, that as the game went on, the risk of tired legs grew.  But Pascal Jansen understood he had to be careful with his substitutions.

He did not make one until the 70th minute, and that was to give James Sands some much-deserved rest.  And he was replaced by the brilliant Aiden O’Neill, who had been out since the World Cup break.  He easily stepped into the lineup, and it was like he was never gone.

Meanwhile, in the 79th minute, there was a clear-cut opportunity for Nashville to go ahead with the number of bodies heading into the box.  Andrés Perea quickly intervened to force a corner kick, disallowing any shots.

In other words, NYCFC did their job defensively.  But they were held to no shots in the second half.  The Bronx side did not put themselves in a position to win the match, even though Jansen was clearly not playing for the draw.

Again, against the top team in MLS, a draw is not terrible.  In another universe, where NYCFC did not make as many silly mistakes and had fewer injuries, this would be seen as a great draw.  The winless streak and the fact that the Boys in Blue competed throughout the match make it difficult to accept the draw.