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Everyone is fired.
BENCH: Allen, Harrison, Hernandez, Iraola, McNamara, Rawls, Taylor
Uh.
For the second year in a row, NYCFC trotted out in the U.S. Open Cup against an opponent it could have handled, but named a team sheet that didn't include a single designated player. This, of course, came just days after Patrick Vieira told anyone who would listen that his team was taking this competition seriously. That they were in it to win it.
Let's be clear: if New York City FC was actually trying to do anything other than lose to a forgettable team from an irrelevant league -- that's what the Cosmos are, to be honest -- they had a funny way of showing it. Come on: MIX was wearing the armband? Mix! The consensus most-overrated-player in MLS, and quite possibly the league's most overpaid non-DP.
Get this: that blasphemous, pathetic, insulting starting XI has combined for four goals in 2016. Four.
Two of those four goals came on opening day against the Chicago Turnstiles. Er... Fire.
Who did Vieira legitimately expect to be his go-to scorer? His central playmaker? His crosser? The truth is that the only guys who can do those things were on the bench.
And they didn't even see the field.
Yes, it was worth a deep breath seeing Tommy McNamara, RJ Allen, and Andoni Iraola on the bench-- hey, if this XI takes the huge dump I assume they will, T-Mac and a couple of smart, tough fullbacks will come on and bail us out. Well! That didn't happen. And New York City FC lost to the New York Cosmos 1-0 on a late header off a counter-attack.
The scoring player, Danny Szetela, was completely unmarked in the air.
Lights out. Congratulations, NYCFC: you are now 0-6 against the two other professional soccer teams in the New York media market.
Oh and Six.
A few thoughts now:
AT THE HALF: #NYCFC 0, Cosmos 0. After this JV game, I guess the varsity teams are gonna play???
— Hudson River Blue (@hudsonriverblue) June 16, 2016
This team looked absolutely clueless tonight. The players ought to feel embarrassed. Really.
— Hudson River Blue (@hudsonriverblue) June 16, 2016
Vieira chose a WEAK team tonight, and he's reaping what he's sown. Picking such a baffling XI is an insult to #NYCFC fans.
— Hudson River Blue (@hudsonriverblue) June 16, 2016
@hudsonriverblue not only that but we can't seem to beat ANY tri-state team! Could they even beat Fordham?!
— MR (@MLRR_s) June 16, 2016
@hudsonriverblue We're such a joke that it's not even funny anymore...
— Roddy Russell Jr. (@rrusselljr93) June 16, 2016
No one said it would be easy. But this is just embarrassing. Pretty sure if Man City were 0-6 vs United & FC United, CFG would be pissed.
— Hudson River Blue (@hudsonriverblue) June 16, 2016
.@gavinmulato7 @hudsonriverblue We're not saying we'd have blown @NYCFC out, but...
— FU Men's Club Soccer (@FUMenClubSoccer) June 16, 2016
I'm glad I get to see Matarrita play. I'm glad I get to see Villa. I'd be cool with no playoffs, even. Just...try. Is that so hard?
— Hudson River Blue (@hudsonriverblue) June 16, 2016
...
Phun Phact: today is June 16th. New York City FC hasn't won a game since May 16th in Portland.
...
To be fair, Mikey Lopez tried really, really hard, and ought to feel positively about his individual performance. But I can't imagine he's very happy about the result or the overall effort. Nobody should be.
I tweeted that I had never seen such a weak, ineffectual performance from New York City, and the tweethearts were quick to point to the 7-0 Red Bulls disaster. Here's why I said what I said, though:
The NYCFC team that lost 7-0 to the Red Bulls would have soundly, brutally beaten the NYCFC team we watched last night. It really was that bad.
Clearly, Patrick Vieira rolled out a weak team with an eye toward Saturday's league showdown against the best Philadelphia Union side ever. OK, OK. But why not even include a single one of your luxurious DPs in the squad whatsoever? Why let your only creative options -- McNamara and Allen -- rot on the bench while they watched their teammates utterly capitulate?
"We want to compete, we wanted to win it," Vieira said of the hallowed old U.S. Open Cup competition after the match. "I chose a team that I believed could win the game."
Well, that's not what it looked like.