Sometimes a former player's revenge game comes back to bite you, and that happened to New York City FC on Matchday 13.
Longtime New York City goalkeeper Luis Barraza denied his former teammates repeatedly and emphatically, making five saves to earn his DC United a 0-0 draw at Audi Field.
The visiting team dominated in the nation's capital if you go by the number of shots New York City attempted and put on target, but a goal simply refused to arrive for a third straight match across all competitions. Though this draw represented an improvement on the back-to-back losses to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and CF Montréal, it still goes down as a frustrating result for New York City.
DC United's star striker Christian Benteke left the match injured in the 20th minute and DC looked bereft of ways to threaten New York City without him. It was an unfortunate way for the game to change – Benteke walked with a significant limp while exiting the field with the rest of his DC teammates, but ultimately, the opportunity presented by his departure was not seized upon by NYCFC.
DC had a few late chances to steal all three points against the run of play, but Matt Freese made two key saves to ensure his team walked out with one point they wished was really three.
Oliver Strand
New York City: 17 shots, 5 shots on target, 55.1% possession, 548 passes, 84.7% pass accuracy, 12 fouls, 9 corners, 2 saves
DC United: 5 shots, 2 shots on target, 44.9% possession, 385 passes, 79.7% pass accuracy, 12 fouls, 4 corners, 5 saves
Attendance: 14,283
No way through
The first half was begging for an opener to be scored, and New York City peppered the DC United goal with shots, but the finish was never there. Alonso Martínez banged a shot off the woodwork in the 11th minute after some nifty footwork to weave through the DC defense and after a nice link-up with Julián Fernández, who played the Costa Rican striker in on Barraza's goal.
