3 more things we learned from NYCFC's unfortunate draw with St. Louis City | OneFootball

On Saturday, New York City FC took on St. Louis City SC at Citi Field. The Pigeons played well throughout the game, but failed to secure the three points, drawing 1-1 when the final whistle blew.

In the sixth minute of stoppage time (90’+6), Brendan McSorley scored the game-defining goal. This dashed away any hope of NYCFC cruising to a victory and securing three points on the day. Despite the unlucky result and the surprising comeback by St. Louis City, there are multiple things to discuss about the match.

NYCFC needs a definitive number nine

Nicolás Fernández Mercau is primarily utilized as an attacking midfielder or winger. He is not ideally a target forward in the traditional sense, although he has scored five times for NYCFC. He is always looking for opportunities to have a goal-scoring hand.

Still, the Pigeons need to find a true target forward who has exceptional finishing ability. During the match over the weekend, NYCFC did well to generate opportunities and play the ball into space in a timely manner. However, they should have had more goals than just one after having so many close chances that either went over the crossbar or went just wide.

This is where a true striker, and one who is a starter, could bolster the offensive attack, ensuring that NYCFC can put teams away early in the match and at a fast pace.

NYCFC's defense is a problem for opponents

One of the most noticeable things that deserves a lot of credit early on in the season is NYCFC's defensive play. Thiago Martins was the shining star this weekend, stifling St. Louis, who tried to rally late prior to their stoppage-time equalizer. He quickly shut down forward Simon Becher in the 78th minute of the game. He also intervened to deny Cedric Teuchert in the 87th minute.

As the old sports saying goes, offense wins games, defense wins championships. Although it is early in the season, the level of intensity on defense continues to be maintained and gets stronger as the season progresses. The Boys in Blue may very well find themselves in another deep playoff run just as they had last season.

Matt Freese is great, but NYCFC needs another option

Matt Freese is undoubtedly a fan favorite and one of the faces of NYCFC. He has proven his reliability in crucial games, and because of his hard work, he has been able to showcase his skills for the United States men’s national team in international play. He has definitely become one of the best goalkeepers in Major League Soccer.

However, as it is known in sports, a team is only as good as its bench, or in this case, substitute players. Without a doubt, Freese has earned the right to be the go-to person in goal for every fixture. However, Pascal Jansen and the coaching staff should be developing a second option in goal to give the goalkeeper the ability to rest and to have fresh legs in the later moments of certain matches. It is not that Freese was poor in the match against St. Louis, but having a second keeper option may be a good backup plan.

With three other goalkeepers on the roster, maybe allowing someone like Tomás Romero to get time in goal may ease some pressure off of Freese’s back.

Despite all of the things that can be pointed out and adjusted, as of this moment, NYCFC is looking strong, and there should be another successful season ahead.