3 things we learned as NYCFC suffered another bad loss, this time to Cincinnati | OneFootball

Losing is never fun.  But playing well and then losing?  That is even more difficult to accept.  Sadly, that is what happened to New York City FC in Ohio.  The Bronx side lost 2-1 to FC Cincinnati after giving up a late goal.

The score does not reflect the entirety of the match.  The home side scored first thanks to a goal from Kenji Mboma Dem, and then they scored last after a brilliant goal from Evander.  But NYCFC’s goal was from Luighi, who continues to impress in his early days with the club.  The Brazilian is two for two in Major League Soccer after also scoring against the Philadelphia Union, but unfortunately those matches ended in losses.

But as a whole, the Boys in Blue had a solid game.  They defended well until the end and were so close to leaving with at least a point.  They were also threatening in the attack, as they had 16 shots with eight on target.  The problem for them was Roman Celentano, who had a fantastic game between the sticks, making seven saves.  Matt Freese also had a good night, but defensive miscues led to the goals given up.

As always, there is plenty to discuss.  Here are three things we learned from NYCFC’s loss to Cincinnati.

NYCFC wasted Matt Freese’s night

As mentioned, Freese had a good night in goal for NYCFC.  The first goal given up was due to failed interceptions and tackles, but the overall attacking sequence began after Bénie Traoré gave up the ball.  The second goal was a complete failure of the defense, as they became messy and failed to mark Evander.

Without Freese, the score would likely be 3-1 or 4-1.  He made some big-time saves, including his early stop of Evander’s golazo attempt in the first half.  He was also part of why the attack-hungry Cincinnati did not have more than 14 shots.  His awareness of when to come off his line and catch the ball helped immensely.

By giving up the second goal, NYCFC wasted a solid performance by Freese.  There was nothing he could do to stop that second goal, and really, this has been a trend this season.

NYCFC should have scored more goals

Now, obviously, part of the reason why the Bronx side did not score more goals lies with the goalkeeping work of Celentano.  His seven saves kept NYCFC from scoring any more.  But despite the keeper’s fantastic job between the sticks, the Pigeons should have scored more goals.

Their persistent attack and momentum during the match showed that they were capable of doing so.  The players should have figured out how to break Celentano and sneak in another.  That makes a difference between teams at the top of the table and those who are not.

It did not help that the substitutes did not help the team be more clinical in front of the goal.  There were still offensive moments, but NYCFC failed to maintain that dangerous threat.  Instead, they were just somewhat of a threat.  Not scoring at least one more time hindered the team’s otherwise good performance.

Is NYCFC about to start a bad streak?

In MLS, NYCFC has lost their last two matches and is now winless in their last three.  Add in the Leagues Cup fixtures, and the Boys in Blue have only won once in their last six games.  This brings up a scary question: Is this the start of another bad streak?

Remember, the team from the Big Apple has already had a seven-game winless streak in MLS.  NYCFC cannot afford to go on another one of those streaks.  Hopefully, they will find a way to close out matches sooner rather than later, and more of the injured players will return.