By Juan Carlos Maygua
The CONCACAF Champions League entered the decisive stages this week with the second leg of the semifinals. In another showdown between Liga MX and MLS, Mexican club Pumas was waiting for his rival between Seattle Sounders and NYCFC. The winner will fight for international representation for the region in the next Club World Cup. The recognition was a good incentive for the participating teams. Having the reigning MLS champions in the final four definitely raised the expectations ahead of the match on Wednesday. However, Seattle walked away with a considerable advantage from the first game. Leaving NYCFC with an uphill battle on home ground.
NYCFC managed to score the away goal to manage an advantage, but they were still down 3-1 on the scoreboard. This meant that they either had to win by a 2-0 margin or score 5 goals in a worst-case scenario. If you add the scheduling factor to the match, getting fans to come out and support the team was another battle for the club. A 9 pm kickoff time on a weekday night in Harrison New Jersey was enough to scare off the majority of fans. It was definitely not ideal, especially to the hardcore supporters who refuse to call the city rival’s stadium “home”. The team was facing a battle on two fronts, but the occasion was enough to draw a considerable crowd to the match. It was a semifinal in an international tournament and it may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the team in that stage of the tournament despite the outcome. The question now was could it be done?
My equation was simple, score first and control the tempo of the game to your advantage. Seattle came with an advantage, but putting pressure on them was key. I have to say that I was skeptical and was one of the few that wanted the team to have the mentality of “score 5 to get the job done”. The reason was the fact that the team was unable to control its emotions and was provoked easily. However, my main concern was not having Maxi Moralez Available for the game. He had already missed the first leg and exposed the team to how dependent they were on his talent. His absence for the home match raised questions but manager Ronny Deila was confident in his game plan in the pre-match press conference. “We had time to rest and come to terms with our mistakes from the previous game, we are ready to go and get a good result”. This also meant that Santiago Rodriguez was going to step into the creative position in the midfield. One way or another NYCFC had to strike first, if not, I at least expected the team to win the match by any scoreboard possible. If we had to leave the tournament, why not do it with a win?
With the match underway, the atmosphere in the stadium was one to admire. On a personal level, it was by far one of the loudest and most tense (in a good way) games I have been a part of in my short time covering games as media. The team play started off a bit cautious, but Seattle played a physical game from the start. So much that they managed to have Castellanos with a yellow card within the first minute of the game. Not the best start considering that he already had a bad episode with the referees during a controversial call on the first leg of the semifinal. NYCFC took control of the game but didn’t really create dangerous occasions in Seattle’s box from that point on. Unfortunately, that control was gone by the 28th minute after Raul Ruidiaz was able to connect a cross inside the box. The plan to strike first was scratched out and a whole new game began. NYCFC now needed 3 goals to attempt a comeback, but with the momentum on Seattle’s side, it was difficult, to say the least. Ruidiaz had another close call near the end of the first half, but Johnson was able to stop his shot with confidence.
As halftime rolled around my approach leaned more toward not losing the game even if it meant elimination. The fans in attendance needed a win that night, so a change in mindset was needed for the second half. Fortunately, the shift came to fruition by the 49th minute, a shot by Santiago Rodriguez hit the post, Talles Magno couldn’t catch the rebound in the best position and his attempt would also hit the post. Thiago Andrade would take matters into his hands to deliver the equalizer only a minute later, it was the perfect start to keep the flame alive. His run down the wing allowed him to cross the ball inside Seattle’s box, finding Santiago Rodriguez open to score thanks to a dummy by Castellanos. It was game on, but the task was still difficult. However, Seattle would only go on to create two clear chances against NYCFC. One of them could have ended the game, but Thiago Martins was able to find redemption by clearing the ball off the line. But why redemption? The defender came from having costly mistakes in previous games, and that clearance surely won back support from the fans.
Seattle would come with secret weapons themselves. A heroic performance by Goalkeeper Stefan Frei kept any comeback chances from materializing for NYCFC. First, off a header by Gabriel Perreira that he was able to clear from the line. Then an acrobatic save to keep a shot out from Talles Magno. But the best one had to be a one on one save once again against Magno in the 72nd minute. I’m certain that if that shot went in NYCFC had enough chances to maybe, just maybe stage a late comeback. Unfortunately, sometimes you also need a little bit of luck to be on your side for things to happen. I guess it wasn’t meant to be for NYCFC, but they gave their best to turn the result around and the fans recognized that from start to finish.
In general lines, I can say that the match lived up to the expectations despite not getting the result. The fans stood behind the team throughout some tough moments and motivated the team nonstop. While it wasn’t the turnout some may have expected, it was enough to make a difference on such a historic occasion for the club. NYCFC bows out of the competition with their best participation in the tournament so far. While a return is definitely contemplated, only time will tell how long it takes for the Boys In Blue to come back. In the meantime, I stay with the amazing experience of such an iconic night, the fans, the chants the highs, and the lows. It was everything I was hoping for as an avid soccer lover and media correspondent. A night that I will always remember.
The team will resume their title defense against Real Salt Lake on Sunday at Yankee Stadium