Hoo boy, if you told me at the start of this season that the New York City Football Club would still be searching for point number one going into match number 4 I would have told you you’d be lying. Not this team, not the one that landed 15 points in it’s final 8 matches and beat Miami IN Miami after the season in a Friendly. Not the team with a full offseason to gel it’s players into one cohesive unit and show that last year was a fluke of a season.
Yet here we are, staring at a team with a legit chance to get 6 losses in it’s first 6 matches if they fail to land a point against Toronto tomorrow night (then heading to Cincinnati then Miami). As this match tomorrow night is more must win than last week was when they took on Portland. So as usual, I have questions going into this match that sees them facing down a much improved Toronto squad and lead by former captain and current Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson:
5 Questions:
1) Can They Get a F-CKING Win? I don’t know at this point. For the first half of last week’s match against Portland they were straight gold, putting constant pressure on Portland picking up a goal just 10 minutes into the match and firing off 4 shots on goal which was more than their total shots the first two matches combined (when they had a grand total of 3). But the same issue happened last week that happened too often last season where they played to preserve a lead far too early. The success they had in the first half failed to continue into the second half and in playing on their heels Phil Neville’s squad made the adjustments necessary to score two and stun the 24,000 in attendance and cause a collective array of obscenities from all of us in the press box that would be worthy of an episode of OZ. To get that elusive win, they team NEEDS to play a strong full 90, not a strong 45.
2) What Can We Expect From Toronto? Going into the season Toronto was the squad that looked MOST beatable early on. Last season the Reds were a league worst in points with 22, wins at 4 and goal differential at -33 and 2nd worst in goals allowed at 59. This season through three matches they’re 180 has them at 2 wins and a draw through three and are the ONLY team in the league that has yet to allow a goal. That last stat is a heavy concern for an NYCFC squad with only 1 goal in 3 matches. On the other hand, Toronto also only has 2 goals themselves and a near league worst 8 shots on goal in their first 3. So in the end, don’t be surprised if this is a 0-0 or 1-0 final either way.
3) Is The Team Falling Apart? Not YET, however they could be. They need 3 points going into their road trip to feel like there’s hope for the season, but confidence is I feel hanging by a thread right now. Last week’s loss was demoralizing in every sense of the word but Toronto could provide some redemption. But with 0 points in 6 certainly possible, fights might (and already could be) breaking out in the locker room.
4) How Will The Fans Be Tomorrow At Yankee Stadium? I feel there will be a macabre humor in seeing what the fans come up with. I’ve already seen the creativity on Twitter and expect that many will carry that anger into the stadium.
5) Does Nick Cushing Care? I saw this question on Reddit this week. Absolutely yes, and far more than you do. Regardless of how you feel about him as a coach, as a person he could easily be the loneliest man in New York right now. I kind of get it (ask me about my time on season 2 of Gotham on Fox and how THAT experience was) so I feel for the guy. If he wasn’t bald already, he’d be by now.
P.S. As a shout out, I wanted to congratulate Amy Suznovich on singing both national anthem’s tomorrow before the match. I’ve known her for years and this is a big grab for her. Here she is singing the Canadian National Anthem last month at the Charlotte Hornets game:
About the author – Scott Churchson has been an actor in every way for the past 13 years, from BG to stand in to stunts and principal, a sports writer for the past 4 and is one of the people that created Stream Punk Entertainment. He’s married to a veterinarian, has a cat with three working legs, a mother-in-law who just moved in and is just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe.