Since the day I started writing about NYCFC, I tried to be a positive voice in the space. With all the negativity and abuse in the world of soccer (and on social media in particular), I didn’t want to be another source of pessimism in a game that’s supposed to bring joy.
But damn, did NYCFC test me on that front this season…
Photo via Katie Cahalin
However, seemingly against all odds, there’s been a tangible breath of optimism in the NYCFC world of late. The Pigeons are unbeaten in their last 6 matches, boasting a 3-3-0 (W-D-L) record over that stretch, with a +7 goal differential. Most impressively, they’ve only allowed two goals on this run, with Miami’s 95th minute gut punch on Saturday ending an incredible clean sheet streak that extended all the way back to September 2nd. That’s roughly 400 minutes of MLS play without conceding for anyone breaking out the abacus at home.
Before this streak, NYCFC felt down and out. The #CushingOut twitter train was barreling full steam ahead, and the long-awaited late-season playoff push that we’d all been anticipating gave way to the final stage of grief: acceptance. Acceptance that NYCFC would miss the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season back in 2015.
Now, riding the momentum of a rock solid defense, recently assimilated summer signings, and a visibly confident NYCFC locker room, all those stages of grief have given way to something recently unfamiliar and entirely dangerous: hope.
Photo Via Tommie Battle
NYCFC have two games left to play against fellow Eastern Conference scrappers DC United (10th place) and Chicago Fire (11th place), who both find themselves chasing the playoff line just as desperately as we are. While City need 3 points from both remaining matches to have any shot of qualification, they suddenly feel like two very attainable results.
Lets look at the recent from of both clubs:
DC United haven’t won a match since September 2nd, with four draws and a loss over that span, while hardly playing any juggernauts along the way.
Chicago, on the other hand, did manage to win 1-0 against NY Red Bulls last weekend, but were on a truly horrid run of form leading up to that victory. In fact, the three points they nabbed in Harrison on Saturday marked their first win in MLS play since JULY 15th, with the Fire going 0-2-5 in that winless stretch.
Doing all this math, it’s hard not to look at that 95th minute Miami equalizer down in Ft. Lauderdale and ignore how much easier playoff qualification would’ve been coming home with 3 points instead of 1 … but hey, that’s football, right?
Photo via Katie Cahalin
And alongside the lone point that NYCFC snuck into their carryon, The Boys in Blue (green) surely brought home a payload of confidence, as that performance felt wholly reminiscent of the NYCFC of old – the NYCFC that went to the conference finals last year, and went all the way to MLS Cup glory in 2021.
Maybe it’s the playoff version of Santi Rodriguez getting unlocked a few weeks early, Tayvon Gray finding 2021 cup run form, or Talles Magno dancing around defenders with joy again, but NYCFC have felt like their old selves again, and really so for the first time all season.
So while I know “It’s the hope that kills you”, the hope is what’s making this all fun again, and I much prefer hope to the 5th stage of grief. Don’t count out NYCFC just yet.
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