NYCFC 1-3 Seattle: Match Review and Player Rankings

It was a new day at Yankee Stadium, but the results were anything but. The match ended much like nearly everyone thought it would, with Seattle emerging on top 3-1 thanks to a Clint Dempsey goal and two brilliant runs from Obafemi Martins. Scoreline aside, however, NYCFC left the match with a ton of confidence that only a strong performance against a top side can provide. The team put on a great display for the home fans, surprisingly beating the possession-oriented Sounders at their own match and dominating most statistical categories. While the end-all-be-all may not have shifted to where the team wants it, they have to be pleased with the effort shown by their injury-limited squad. Head Coach Jason Kreis was realistic about his squads performance against Seattle, but made note of the team’s finishing problems. “We were the much better team in the first 45 minutes,” Kreis said. “But again, we don’t score a goal. We dictated the game, we had the majority of the chances against one of the best teams in the league which has been together for a very long time.” Coach Kreis also expressed that the team continues to believe in itself and that he expects a good week of training and another solid performance, though hopefully with a better result, for the first edition of the upcoming Hudson River Derby this weekend.

The first half was, as Kreis properly stated, dominated by NYCFC, which owned a statistical lead in every category but the one that matters most. At the point where Obafemi Martins put his side up 1-0 in the 23rd minute, New York lead in corners, shots, shots on goals, and fouls drawn. Khiry Shelton had the first real chance of the match, just putting a powerful strike wide of the net and missing an opportunity to put New York up early. The opportunity was quickly snatched up by Seattle as Kwame Watson-Siriboe was caught ball-watching and Martins made a beautiful run behind him. Clint Dempsey picked the run out and delivered a perfectly placed through ball, as would be expected from the US Men’s star, and Martins did not falter on the follow-through. New York, suddenly finding themselves down in a match that they seemed to be dominating, continued to press well in the remainder of the half, but a goal remained elusive as the teams entered the half with Seattle on top 1-0. Also of consequence would be Watson-Siriboe’s 28th minute yellow card, as he’d pick up his second and a suspension later in the second half of a match where he clearly looked outmatched.

As the teams returned for the second half, there was a quiet optimism in the stadium that New York would make good on one of their chances to bring themselves back into it, and that optimism would soon find itself validated. New York found themselves having opportunities early and often, putting ball after ball into the box and towards the goal, but still their game-tying score remained out of reach. But then came the 54th minute. As Seattle had a moment of possession, fans noticed David Villa warming up on the sidelines, preparing to enter the match for Medhi Ballouchy, and let up a great roar at the return of their star player. But Medhi Ballouchy would not go gently into that good night. After a defensive dispossession, the ball found its way to the feet of Mix Diskerud, who fed the ball to Khiry Shelton up front. Khiry took a touch and then saw Ballouchy at the top of the box. The ball rolled to Ballouchy’s feet, he took a touch to his left, and then curled a brilliant left-footed shot into the top-left corner of the goal to set the teams even at 1-1. The stadium was electric at the display, but it was not to remain that way for long. A mere four minutes later, Martins would find Dempsey with his back to the New York goal at the top of the box. Dempsey took a touch, turned, and fired a grounder just past Josh Saunders and into the back of the net to put Seattle back on top 2-1. Bad would get worse as Martins would again take advantage of Watson-Siriboe, making a great run before finishing so clinically that Josh Saunders had no chance of even touching the ball. It would be 3-1 Seattle and that is how it would end, but not before we’d see RJ Allen make his first appearance for 20 minutes, a mere two days after signing with the team, and not before we’d see Watson-Siriboe pick up his second yellow of the match.

While the end result was not what New York wanted, the performance was everything coach and fans could have asked for against such a high quality squad. New York had to opportunity to score far more often than was executed and it’s certain that Coach Kreis will put a strong focus on making the most of the team’s many opportunities during practice and in future matches. The team will have to finish better if they are to take home 3 points against Hudson River rivals New Jersey Red Bulls, this Sunday at 7 PM in Harrison, NJ. They’ll certainly have the support of their fans, who’ve bought tickets in droves to fill in the usually empty seats of Red Bull Arena, and who have additionally already bought out the two lower decks of Yankee Stadium for the return fixture on June 28th, forcing the organization to open the 300-level seating! With a bit more finishing, and another performance like Sunday’s against Seattle, it doesn’t seem out of place to imagine that NYCFC could take the first historic match and finally turn things around.

Player Grades

Goalkeeping:

Saunders- 5

The weakest performance of the year so far for the great keeper. While there was nothing he could do against Martin’s second goal, he got a touch on both his first and Dempsey’s goal, and likely could have done better to keep his team in the match. After the performances we’ve been accustomed to from Saunders, it seems fair to call this an aberration against two of the best players in the league and expect him to bounce back Sunday.

Defense:

Facey- 5                    Watson-Siriboe- 4                     Wingert- 6                       Brovsky- 6

Given the quality of opposition, I thought the defense performed admirably. Surely with the talent Seattle has, three goals could have easily been 5 or 6 had it not been for several key stops, particularly on the left side from Brovsky and Wingert. Facey had a difficult time, but it seems fair to assign some of that blame due to the coverage he had to provide for the clearly outmatched Watson-Siriboe, who had a very poor performance. He allowed Martins to make runs behind him with little opposition on both goals and struggled greatly to keep up with his pace, eventually picking up two yellow cards and getting himself suspended for Sunday’s Red Bulls fixture (though the return of Hernandez somewhat mitigates this loss).

Midfield:

Diskerud- 6                    Grabavoy- 5                    Shelton- 6                    Alvarez- 7                    Ballouchy- 6

To out-possess a possession-minded team like Seattle with their caliber of midfield says a lot about the performance of the New York midfield, who played exceptionally well. Mix and Shelton both played their roles well, though Shelton missed out on an opportunity to grab an eight with his missed shot attempt, with both being involved in the Ballouchy goal. Ballouchy for his part played decently, losing possession a bit, but also putting together yet another stunningly technical goal. Alvarez, however, was easily man of the match. He found every pass and found a few where passing was the right move, but nobody saw the same opening and nobody got on the end of them. He looked far more confident than in his first appearance, and may have earned himself another start next week.

Attack:

Mullins- 5

Once again, Patrick Mullins showed a predilection to hesitate shooting with the ball at his feet. He seems far more comfortable in the second striker role or out on the wings, but the teams lack of depth at striker is haunting them a bit and forcing him into action. Expect Villa to start up top with his return this weekend.

Subs:

Villa- 6                    Poku- 6                    Allen- 5

Villa and Poku largely did their jobs, with Poku playing possession well and Villa getting off a strike or two. Allen made his first ever appearance two days after signing. The Monmouth University alum seemed to struggle a bit and made several plays that could have earned him a card. He’ll need to learn to rely more on his skill than his physicality, but the promise is there and we will see how he develops going forward.

Be sure to follow Andres at @TheAndresSoto and myself @Coltons13 on twitter for everything NYCFC Fan Podcast related and NYCFC related! If you enjoyed this, please check out my own blog, Great Balls of Fire, at glofblog.wordpress.com! Let’s go, NYCFC!