NEW YORK — Despite a steely second-half effort, New York City FC couldn't overcome an early deficit, succumbing to their first-ever MLS loss on Saturday,1-0 against Sporting Kansas City as
Ike Opara
opened and closed the scoring in the 13th minute with a powerful header off a
Matt Besler
long throw-in.
It didn't help matters that NYCFC were without Spanish star man
David Villa
for the first time, the captain having been left out after aggravating a groin strain this week in training.
Coupled with the absence of holdup striker
Adam Nemec
, who himself scored while on international duty with the Slovakian national team, New York City fielded an unprecedented strike pairing.
Patrick Mullins
and
Javier Calle
both made their first starts for the team and had some difficulty linking up with the midfield.
“Obviously nothing is promised on any given night," veteran midfielder
Ned Grabavoy
said. "I thought the energy and promise was there, but obviously it was difficult for us to create clear chances and we were hurt by a set piece, which we’d been talking about all week.”
- Match Recap: Opara header gives Sporting KC first win of season
According to Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes, Sporting KC practiced on a 68 yard-wide field during the week
in preparation for 70-yard wide Yankee Stadium. They had planned to incorporate long throws into their attack all along and their preparations paid dividends on the Besler service that found Opara for the game's only goal.
It wasn't all doom and gloom for New York City FC, however. First-time starter
Kwame Watson-Siriboe
, who slid into center back duty due to injuries on the back line, was exceptional both in the air and when forced to defend one-on-one. More than once, the former Real Salt Lake man stood tall to break up the Sporting Kansas City attack with timely tackles and interceptions.
Also making their debuts for the home team were second-half substitutes
Tony Taylor
,
Tom McNamara
and
Kwadwo Poku
. The infusion of energy late in games, which provided a key boost in the team's first three matches, was readily apparent as NYCFC began dictating the pace and pressing for an equalizer as the game rolled towards its conclusion.
"We certainly have made changes in every game, and the substitutions have been great with their energy. I thought they were great again tonight," Grabavoy said. "I think we’ve been really good in the second halves [of games] and I hope that doesn't change."
Agonizingly for the home team, numerous chances on goal in the late going flew barely wide, most notably a free header from Grabavoy on a
Jeb Brovsky
cross just seconds before the final whistle.
"Things started to open up a little bit," Grabavoy continued. "As players became a little bit more fatigued, the spaces opened up a bit bigger. We have some crafty players that are looking to combine and that's one of our more positive attributes. You find a little more time and space on the ball, especially in the final third."
Mix Diskerud
echoed Grabovoy's stance: He felt that the team's late pressure could have earned them a point and that, "a draw would have been a fair result".
“I thought we did enough to get a result,"
defender Jason Hernandez
opined in the locker room. "The game is cruel, the game is misleading. I thought the effort tonight deserved something.”
