New York City falls short against Montréal in the Bronx

New York City FC lost again on the heels of the US Open Cup elimination to Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Wednesday. NYCFC looked sloppy in possession, didn't create chances, and allowed a CF Montréal that struggled to score this year be the more dangerous side.

Several athletic saves by New York City goalkeeper Matt Freese in the first half kept NYCFC in the game. The second half was a different story, though. Montréal finally capitalized on New York City's passing errors to score just its sixth goal this season and earn its first win in all competitions this year.

New York City striker Alonso Martíenez was uncharacteristically wasteful, missing two clear-cut chances to score and earn a result. He did well to outpace the Montréal defense on an early breakaway, but goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois charged the striker and got enough on the ball to preserve his clean sheet.

This game saw the Major League Soccer debut of midfielder Aiden O'Neill, the biggest signing the club made in the winter transfer window. He stepped in for the injured Keaton Parks just a few days after joining the team, but he was unable to help his new team get on the scoreboard.

It's difficult to win a soccer game if you have fewer shots, fewer big chances, and fewer corners, which is exactly what happened last night.

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Aiden O’Neill debut

O’Neill was given his first start today, logging 62 minutes in his debut. He didn’t disappoint. The Australian international completed 86% of his passes and won 67% of his duels, showing us why he was captain at Standard de Liége in Belgium's Jupiler Pro League.

After the game, the midfielder said that he's settling into life in New York City and enjoys playing in front of the fans.“Playing in [Yankee] Stadium is a real moment and one that I’ll remember forever,” said O’Neill.

But it will take some time for the 26-year-old to fully integrate into the squad. O'Neill will likely be in the lineup again this coming week, as Parks continues to recover from a lingering foot injury. New York City will face DC United at Audi Field on Wednesday and New York Red Bulls at Citi Field on Saturday in the busiest run of games this season.

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Second-half defensive collapse

New York City was lucky to escape the first half with the score even at 0-0. There were some panic-inducing moments – Freese whiffing a clearance under pressure, for one – but luckily for NYCFC, nothing came of it for Montréal. NYCFC looked shaky, but Thiago Martins made crucial tackles, and Andres Perea's work on the left side was thankless.

Still, the warning signs were there. Things started to fall apart quickly after the start of the second half. Head coach Pascal Jansen made substitutions at the break: Tayvon Gray was replaced at left-back with Mitja Ilenič, and Perea left for Agustín Ojeda. Despite the changes, New York City looked flat out of possession, allowing Montréal to move the ball around the field unchallenged.

A little more than two minutes into the second half, Montréal Prince Owusu scored what proved to be the game-winner. Owusu recovers the ball outside of the box, advances easily towards the goal, and then unleashes a shot that beats Freese. There was a complete lack of urgency on the part of New York City: Nobody advanced on Owusu, or tried to close down his angle. Instead, the defense gave him a free hit.

Too much rotation?

Jansen made five substitutions this game, making it the third time in league play that the head coach made the maximum number of changes. Midfielder Hannes Wolf came on in the 62nd minute in his first substitute appearance this year – he started every league game before this match – and striker Mounsef Bakrar came on in the 73rd minute. Wolf's return to the field brought about an uptick in possession and creativity – the Austrian created two chances – but he finished the game with an xG + xA of just 0.09 per FotMob.

Bakrar contributed even less. The Algerian international was paired up top with Martíenz, but Bakrar took just one shot in his 17 minutes on the field, and it went wide of the goal. The striker took 12 touches, and ended with an xG + xA of 0.01 per FotMob.

It was another poor night for the substitutes: In Jansen's 14 games in charge of New York City, the substitutes have scored zero goals.

In the postgame press conference, Jansen explained that he wanted to rotate his players during this busy stretch of games. In addition, the squad was hurt by recent injuries to Parks, Kevin O’Toole, and Birk Risa, plus the continuing recovery of Malachi Jones. Still, the lack of impact from the bench continues to be a concern with this team.

Official Highlights | New York City FC 0 – 1 CF Montréal