COLUMBUS, Ohio—At MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday night, one winless streak came to an end at five games, another was extended that far.
After Saturday's 3-2 loss to Columbus Crew SC , New York City FC saw their current run of poor results extend. NYCFC have not registered a win since they beat the Chicago Fire, 4-3, in the season opener, and head coach Patrick Vieira could not pinpoint what’s gone wrong since opening day following Saturday's defeat.
“It’s difficult to put a finger on what’s not going well,” Vieira said. “I think we played a team who was better than us, today. I think there’s nothing more to say.”
While Crew SC sat in last place in the Eastern Conference entering the match, Vieira said the loss gave him perspective on where his mix of seasoned veterans and youngsters stands in the grand scheme of things.
“We came here and we tried to develop the same game we played against Chicago in our opening game,” Vieira said. “Tonight, we saw where we are. We shouldn’t forget we played against a team who played in the final last year and how good and how strong they are. I think tonight gave me a good level of where we are and where we want to be.”
Vieira said he wasn’t surprised by Columbus’ performance. Despite warning his players of the danger Columbus presents, he said Crew SC “overloaded” the NYCFC midfield and didn’t allow the club to play its game.
“We knew what to expect,” Vieira said. “I’ve been watching all the games they’ve played so far. They’ve played some fantastic football, and since the beginning of the week I’ve been saying to my players, ‘This team is not in the position they should be and they’re better than the position they’re in at the moment.’”
The NYCFC defense has now given up 10 goals in five matches, the second-worst mark in the East. Vieira said his defense “did not respect our gameplan at all,” and couldn’t deal with Kei Kamara and Columbus’s pinching wingers, despite the scouting report.
How can Vieira’s players fix the issues?
“Keep working,” he said with a smile. “Keep working even harder.”
