NYCFC's winless run continues as the points are shared again with Toronto FC | OneFootball

New York City FC entered the match against Toronto FC desperately needing a win.  The Pigeons were winless in the last four Major League Soccer games and had only won once in August in all competitions.  The problem, though, was that the Canadian side had been hot.  Hence, it was not shocking that the game ended in a 1-1 draw, which was the same score that started the streak.

There is no question that NYCFC had a solid defensive game.  What the team lacked were shots, especially on target.  The home team was relentless in their chase for goals, and that is why they eventually scored.

One positive entering the battle was that Thiago Martins was back from his leg injury.  While the captain has not had his best season, he is still one of the top defenders on the team.  His return will hopefully help in the long run.  However, it must be said that silly mistakes still occurred when he started.

There have been too many games in which NYCFC could not hold on to a lead or draw.  Many of the points dropped have been self-inflicted wounds.  It helped that the Pigeons held on to the draw last week against the New England Revolution, but doubts remained in the air. And this time, they dropped points, for it was Toronto that scored the tying goal.

NYCFC continued their poor run

The Boys in Blue started the match quickly with their play and by getting the ball into the final third.  But the Reds began to get the majority of the offensive opportunities, threatening Matt Freese.  Alonso Coello had a 9th-minute golazo chance that the NYCFC goalkeeper had to meet power-to -power for his save.

However, Martins played like he was not out for a long time, and he and James Sands did a solid job of calming down the backline and closing down the attacking players.

That defensive work allowed NYCFC to go in front in the 29th minute.  Nicolás Fernández Mercau had the ball directly outside the box in the center.  The Argentine had multiple players in front of him, but he did not care.  He powerfully struck the ball on the ground into the right side of the goal as the Toronto players watched the visitors take the lead.

Still, the Bronx side continued to face the threat from the home side, especially from Richie Laryea.  His runs on the left side were a consistent threat in the first half. Truthfully, without the NYCFC backline, the game might have ended in a loss.

What the Pigeons needed to do in the second half was to have more than one shot on target.  Sure, it led to a goal, but that was not sustainable. Thus, that was proven correct.

The Reds continued to attack after halftime.  Every NYCFC player was forced to help with the defensive work.  Even Luighi was involved, as the striker helped with the clearances.

Everyone was having notable moments in the backline, though.  Whether it was the header clearance by Sands to stop a cross, an intervention by Nico Cavallo to stop an attacking sequence, or a block from Martins, everyone did the job that they were supposed to.

However, Toronto was relentless with their work in the final third.  And by the 70th minute, their work paid off. Theo Corbeanu made the run on the right and sent a ball in front of the NYCFC defenders. Dániel Sallói made the run towards the goal and tapped the ball in to tie the game.

By that time, Raul Gustavo came on for Cavallo, and he slipped into the left-back position.  It was ultimately an awful decision by Pascal Jansen, as the usual center-back was beaten too many times, with Toronto players running past him.  After the goal, the head coach took Martins off, and Kevin O’Toole slipped into his usual role, moving Gustavo to partner with Sands.

Sadly, the substitutions did not help.  The Reds were persistent, and NYCFC could not find their attacking boots outside of the first-half goal.  They had very few chances, and actually ended the game with only two shots on target.

Their best chance in the second half came from Mitja Ilenič, who had a shot right at the goal in the final minutes.  Nevertheless, the lackluster attack was disappointing to watch. NYCFC's winless run continues, and sadly, it might continue beyond the next week or two.