Last night NYCFC won their second game in a row, with a commanding 3-1 home victory over the Montreal Impact.

Who Are You and What Have You Done With NYCFC?

Watching the game last night felt eerily similar to Arsenal’s mid-January win over Manchester City this year.

Aside from the obvious gulf in ability between the two games, this game was similar in that fans from the winning team were scratching their heads wondering: “Why don’t we always play like this?”

In Arsenal’s case, it was a willingness from the entire team to defend as a unit in big games. For NYCFC, it was to attack as one.

The first goal of the night was stunning. Not that it’ll win best goal of the week, not even that David Villa (who finally played well in a game) scored, but the way it happened.

Grabavoy picks out his long-haired compatriot McNamara, who marauds down the left flank and sends in a low cross to Mullins, who deftly lays a one-touch pass to Ballouchy, who takes a touch, PICKS HIS HEAD UP and cooly finds Villa, who does what he is payed to to: finish.

That goal, dare I say, had some Arsenal in it. And that was merely an example of how NYCFC were doing. Of course, there were awful unforced errors, and of course both Jacobson and Brovsky kicked the ball out of play when trying to make a pass, but it didn’t happen as often as usual.

There were times I didn’t recognize the team I was watching. The passing between the NYC players showed some sort of mutual understanding, some chemistry. Is this what we’ve been waiting for?

……….Poku & Mix

Let’s recap: Poku is subbed on in the 75th minute, steals the ball to assist a goal in the 76th, and scores in the 90th.

Mix Diskerud scored a volley against Germany midweek with the USMNT and comes back and plays brilliantly, scoring off the bench and dishes out some sublime passes.

So why is it that when these players start matches rather than come off the bench, they seem to have so much more trouble?

The obvious answer is that you have fresh legs coming in the 75th minute, you know you just have to run as hard as you can for 15. Also, you have energy, while everyone else on the pitch has been running for 75.

These are part of the answer. But there is another more interesting possibility. When Poku has started games, he doesn’t have the freedom to roam forward whenever he pleases. As a part of a two-man center midfield, Poku can’t throw caution to the wind and put in performances such as last night. When Poku starts, he spends a lot of time in the Pirlo-Xabi Alonso role where he picks the ball up deep and attempts to link defense and attack and get a play started. Problem is, if he’s passing it from deep, who’s he passing it up to?

A possible answer was actually something Jason Kreis tried last night. He pulled off Mullins, a striker, for Poku, a center mid. We’ve put together a lineup that would use Poku, our most promising youngster, to his full potential, while still keeping the players that Kreis holds so dear.

4-5-1

Saunders (GK), Wingert (LB), Hernandez (CB), Facey (CB), Brovsky (RB), Jacobson (CDM), McNamara (LM), Mix (CM), Poku (CM), Ballouchy (RM), Villa (ST)

Kreis has already tried a 4-5-1 this season, so it’s clear he’d be willing to do this. What works so nicely here is primarily the role of our two most dynamic midfielders, Mix and Poku. While you lose a striker, having three center mids allows at least one of Poku or Mix to make runs into the box to aide Villa. This especially will help Poku, because in this formation he can count on Mix and Jaboson behind him and do what he does best, make shit happen. With this formation, Mix and Poku have free reign to do what they like, and given that liberty we could see some real sexy football. Just saying.

Shay & Villa

Shay Facey continues to impress in stunning fashion. Only a few weeks ago Facey was struggling immensely at right back, forcing us to wonder if such a young lad was cut out to be starting matches. All that talk will hopefully have been put to bed after 3 consecutive solid performances at center back. Facey on countless occasions last night made the tackle when it mattered and he anticipated passes expertly. Facey doesn’t put his body on the line as much as Hernandez, but at 20 years of age he can already read the game far better than his 31-year-old American counterpart.

Villa has disappointed thus far this season. Although he’s got a few goals, he has an awful tendency to be anonymous in games. In most games there are 30 minute periods where it doesn’t feel that Villa is even playing. For a starter that’s worrying, for a DP that’s downright inexcusable.

Thus, seeing Villa’s determination and control of the game last night was a marvel to behold. Villa was picking the ball up from his teammates, playing little one-two’s and taking dangerous shots on goal. He would track back and defend when needed and there were few moments during the first 70 minutes when I didn’t see him doing something proactive. With a goal and an assist to his name Villa will feel accomplished, and rightly so.

It’s Not All Sunshine and Rainbows

With this being only our third ever win and probably the only game we’ve actually played legitimate team footie it’s understandable that I’ve spent most of this lauding the key men in the win. But there were still way too many things we did wrong. For some reasons our defenders still have a horribly stupid tendency to pass it directly to the opposition in our own half. David Villa still waits too damn long to pull the trigger, whether that be a pass or a shot. We inexplicably kick the ball out of bounds when we have possession.

These are problems that need to be fixed, or at least addressed. But right now we’ve got back-to-back wins and a Poku goal. Life is good.

On To The Next One

Our next MLS game is this Saturday away to Toronto FC. But before then we have a midweek matchup against local rivals Cosmos in the 4th round of the U.S. Open Cup.

It will be interesting to see how many regular starters Kreis & Co. will decide to play against the NASL side. With these two wins under our belt, Kreis might look to Saturday’s Toronto game and play a much weakened side against the Cosmos. However, NYC will want to keep the good form going and a win on Wednesday could be crucial.

Toronto will be a stern test to say the least. A team packed full of quality, star player Giovinco has been looking like an early contender for regular season MVP.

If NYC were ever going to stand a chance against Toronto, it was going to be with good form and a stellar team performance. We’ve got the first, let’s see if we can manage the second.

On the the next one.