NYCFC was coming off back-to-back CONCACAF Champions League wins to start their 2022 in the right way. When coach Ronny Deila was asked about playing too many pre-season games, he claimed the team “love to play games, so it’s no problem.
Turns out a problem came in the form of Los Angeles Galaxy’s Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who took 89 minutes to finally sink a lackluster NYCFC in a tense 1-0 season opener Sunday night in California. Chicharito told ESPN that it was “a victory for LA Galaxy, not Chicharito.”
On Saturday night, it was a draw for NYCFC. They traveled to Canada on the night to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Vancouver had a tough start to 2022, still reeling from the 4-0 loss to Los Angeles FC last month. This time around, they managed to put on a strong defensive display at the BC Field Stadium.
City never felt comfortable on the ball and was prone to quick counterattacks. It was only when players got forward that we occasionally saw some of that 2021-playoff counter-attacking that won them the league.
The Whitecaps didn’t play particularly well either but attacked the goal on the counter with vigor. Vancouver constantly reset their defensive posture in the second half and eliminated most chances heading their way.
By halftime, it was scoreless with City dominating possession and chances at goal without being able to fully crack Vancouver’s back line of Tristan Blackmon, Ranko Veselinović, and Florian Jungwirth.
The second half produced much more fluid counters from both sides. As the game was heading into the final minutes of the game, it was clearly heading to a draw. Both teams now stand without a win in their first two games.
Vancouver took a lot of positives from this game, defensively limiting one of the most talented attack-minded teams in the league.
New York City must have their heads in their hands as they now have a single point from two games.
Both teams will play next Saturday on March 12 with NYCFC at home facing Club de Foot Montréal at home at 1pm EST.
Vancouver are traveling to face Houston Dynamo at 6:30 pm EST.
