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NEW YORK (77 WABC) — A few months later and NYCFC is still trying to solve their scoring drought.
Despite dominating much of their MLS is Back Tournament opener against the Philadelphia Union, NYCFC fell 1-0 in an early morning contest in Orlando. The match was the first of three in the group stage of the tournament for New York.
It was Alejandro Bedoya’s goal in the 63rd minute that served as the game-winner for Philadelphia, even though the Union put just four shots on target Thursday morning. NYCFC put up a spirited effort with 17 shot attempts, with seven of them being on net, and eight corner kick attempts.
Still, it wasn’t enough to beat Union keeper Andre Blake.
“It’s frustrating, I think today we had quite a bit more chances than our opponent, but we don’t score and they get the chance and put it in,” NYCFC head coach Ronnie Delia said. “We’re not effective enough in what we’re doing. I’m a little bit sad for the hard work the players and everybody put in that we didn’t get any points today.”
The loss to Philadelphia was the third MLS contest this season that NYCFC failed to put a point on the scoreboard.
Thursday marked the first time a New York professional sports franchise played in a real game since the COVID-19 pandemic halted all of North America’s professional sports leagues in March. Sky Blue FC has been participating in the National Women’s Soccer League Challenge Cup, but they are based in New Jersey.
The loss also marked the first competitive game for NYCFC since their CONCACAF Champions League match against Tigres UANL.
“The team worked really hard over the quarantine over the past couple of weeks,” midfielder James Sands said about getting back on the field. “I think we all felt fit and then I think we adjusted pretty well to the heat, which was another big factor. Overall we’re all in good shape.”
The loss to the Union puts NYCFC in a precarious spot heading into their next group match with Orlando SC. New York trials both Philadelphia and Orlando in Group A and the group stage counts towards the 2020 MLS regular season, whenever that resumes.
“They’re going to want to repeat their performance last night,” Sands said about Orlando heading into their meeting next Tuesday. “It’s much more important for us so we have to come out with energy and we really have to go for it. There’s no holding back at this point. It is a must-win and we need the three points.”
