Its been a while since I was able to break down a positive NYCFC play but there were actually quiet a few to choose from in City's recent match against the Houston Dynamo. It has not been a positive season but fans are staying strong and Robert Hobson couldn't have said it better in his first blog post on NYCFCPodcast.com. I'm sure everyone has seen this play over and over again. As heartbreaking as it is, it's still one of the greatest plays created this season and unfortunately we couldn't get a goal from it.
Before the first photo, let me set up the play for you. Patrick Mullins attempts to beat a man on the dribble but the Houston Dynamo defender (can't figure out who it was) closes in and has the ball bounce off his leg for an NYCFC throw in.
Chris Wingert walks up to talk the throw in. Mix Diskerud (#10) and Khiry Shelton are both inside the penalty box. David Villa jogs towards the throw-in line and Patrick Mullins is just outside the box near the left corner flag. Jeb Brovsky is far out of the play at the moment though Alexander López (#15) has to mark Jeb in the event of a run. (Yes we're on first name basis here since I met him)
Kwadowo Poku comes into the screen of play and with the next shot (not shown) Wingert throws it to Kwadwo Poku. Note: David Villa is in an area where basically two or three Dynamo defenders have to keep an eye on.
Poku receives the throw from Wingert and Villa starts to move bringing a defender with him.
Poku is met by Luis Garrido (#8)
Poku takes Garrido on the dribble while Villa moves away and does a good job of drawing attention from Ricardo Clark (#13). Here Patrick Mullins now makes his way into the edge of the penalty box and Wingert is marked by that unknown defender.
Garrido marks Poku tightly but he doesn't commit to tackle Poku and instead he allows him to dribble to what will eventually be a great empty lane provided by Mullins and Mix at the edge of the box. Alexander López is marking Jeb man to man but has to turn his head to see what's developing on the other side of the pitch.
I love what Mix does next which is an awesome and sneaky move. He technically creates a wall/screen blocking Raúl Rodríguez (#5) from being able to provide coverage assistance against Poku. David Horst (#18) has to respect both where Mix and Mullins are positioned.
Rodriguez sees the attacking Poku and now moves around Mix (who has his hands down as if he's setting up a basketball pick) to attempt to slow down Poku. By having Rodriguez now follow Poku he leaves Mix alone. Note: Jeb has now walked behind a flat footed, caught-watching López.
Poku moves down the field towards the goal line and draws two defenders to him. Shelton starts to move forward a bit with Jermaine Taylor (#4) defending him. López (#15) completely ignores Jeb allowing him to walk past him and Mullins starts to move forward as well.
Poku's acceleration is quicker than the ball and he actually creates a moment where he loses control and has to recuperate. By slowing down...
It actually makes Garrido and Rodríguez pause a bit. None of the defenders ever tried to stop or tackle Poku, instead they just watch him. Queue in intimidating wrestlers voice "You can't stop The Poku, you can only hope to contain him!"
Poku regains possession and carries the ball over to the end line.
Poku puts on the breaks. Garrido breaks away from Poku and Rodríguez breaks too hard which forces his body to shift towards the end line. Mix is completely left wide open at this point. Khiry moves behind Taylor and Jeb is inches away from the penalty box. López still makes no attempt to cover Brovsky.
This is the point where I have to image Poku see's a powder blue jersey to his far left (Jeb). Why? Because during this series I never see Poku look up to pass. Khiry positions himself too close to the goalie box and is basically hidden from view. Mullins is too close to defenders and seems to be moving towards the goalie box too. Mix! Mix is wide open and is standing in the same area where he scored his first goal against Orlando City. Mix is even asking for the ball! He's pointing!
Note: Sorry no Villa pointing clip here.
In a split second Poku passes the ball off to the center of the penalty box while Rodríguez performs some ballet move.
Jeb is in perfect attacking position!
He dives forward making contact with the ball. Tyler Deric (Goalie) moves across his line to view the header.
And then Deric jumps to save the header.
Puts a hand to the ball.
Which then hits the outside of the pole and bounces away! Truly an incredible save.
It's another unfortunate missed opportunity for NYCFC. One that would of probably sealed the game and provided a much need win, 3 points and morale booster for a team who has not won a game since March 15th!
The quality of play here is top notch. You have Poku who single-handedly creates a play out of thin air. He finds a wide open powdered blue jersey (I highly doubt he knew it was Jeb) drifting into the penalty box. Who else on our team can create this type of play? Perhaps Villa. You also have Mix creating a small screen to help Poku with his dribble. You of course have Jeb playing a heads up game by slipping into the box at the moment his defender wasn't looking. David Villa said it best in the post game interview "If Brovsky would of headed that ball high, instead of low, it would of been a goal" (paraphrased from Spanish).
NYCFC's season has been a poor one and if we swap jersey colors you can easily envision us allowing a team to create this type of scoring opportunity. Wait, now that I think of it, it almost resembles the play the New York Red Bulls created on their first goal against NYCFC.
There are a lot of questions Kreis is going to have to answer now that Mix is being called up to the USMNT. He'll be without his star midfielder for two games and will have to tinker once again with the lineup. Should Poku start? Will he keep the same diamond 4-4-2 formation he started this game with or switch to the flat 4-4-2 he ended up with?
Time will tell us soon enough and I am positive that NYCFC's "winning time" is closing in on us as well.
GO NYCFC!
I would love some feedback and if you enjoyed this breakdown you may enjoy the NYCFC Fan Podcast which you can subscribe to on iTunes or Stitcher (see signature below). Thanks
Before the first photo, let me set up the play for you. Patrick Mullins attempts to beat a man on the dribble but the Houston Dynamo defender (can't figure out who it was) closes in and has the ball bounce off his leg for an NYCFC throw in.
Chris Wingert walks up to talk the throw in. Mix Diskerud (#10) and Khiry Shelton are both inside the penalty box. David Villa jogs towards the throw-in line and Patrick Mullins is just outside the box near the left corner flag. Jeb Brovsky is far out of the play at the moment though Alexander López (#15) has to mark Jeb in the event of a run. (Yes we're on first name basis here since I met him)
Kwadowo Poku comes into the screen of play and with the next shot (not shown) Wingert throws it to Kwadwo Poku. Note: David Villa is in an area where basically two or three Dynamo defenders have to keep an eye on.
Poku receives the throw from Wingert and Villa starts to move bringing a defender with him.
Poku is met by Luis Garrido (#8)
Poku takes Garrido on the dribble while Villa moves away and does a good job of drawing attention from Ricardo Clark (#13). Here Patrick Mullins now makes his way into the edge of the penalty box and Wingert is marked by that unknown defender.
Garrido marks Poku tightly but he doesn't commit to tackle Poku and instead he allows him to dribble to what will eventually be a great empty lane provided by Mullins and Mix at the edge of the box. Alexander López is marking Jeb man to man but has to turn his head to see what's developing on the other side of the pitch.
I love what Mix does next which is an awesome and sneaky move. He technically creates a wall/screen blocking Raúl Rodríguez (#5) from being able to provide coverage assistance against Poku. David Horst (#18) has to respect both where Mix and Mullins are positioned.
Rodriguez sees the attacking Poku and now moves around Mix (who has his hands down as if he's setting up a basketball pick) to attempt to slow down Poku. By having Rodriguez now follow Poku he leaves Mix alone. Note: Jeb has now walked behind a flat footed, caught-watching López.
Poku moves down the field towards the goal line and draws two defenders to him. Shelton starts to move forward a bit with Jermaine Taylor (#4) defending him. López (#15) completely ignores Jeb allowing him to walk past him and Mullins starts to move forward as well.
Poku's acceleration is quicker than the ball and he actually creates a moment where he loses control and has to recuperate. By slowing down...
It actually makes Garrido and Rodríguez pause a bit. None of the defenders ever tried to stop or tackle Poku, instead they just watch him. Queue in intimidating wrestlers voice "You can't stop The Poku, you can only hope to contain him!"
Poku regains possession and carries the ball over to the end line.
Poku puts on the breaks. Garrido breaks away from Poku and Rodríguez breaks too hard which forces his body to shift towards the end line. Mix is completely left wide open at this point. Khiry moves behind Taylor and Jeb is inches away from the penalty box. López still makes no attempt to cover Brovsky.
This is the point where I have to image Poku see's a powder blue jersey to his far left (Jeb). Why? Because during this series I never see Poku look up to pass. Khiry positions himself too close to the goalie box and is basically hidden from view. Mullins is too close to defenders and seems to be moving towards the goalie box too. Mix! Mix is wide open and is standing in the same area where he scored his first goal against Orlando City. Mix is even asking for the ball! He's pointing!
Note: Sorry no Villa pointing clip here.
In a split second Poku passes the ball off to the center of the penalty box while Rodríguez performs some ballet move.
Jeb is in perfect attacking position!
He dives forward making contact with the ball. Tyler Deric (Goalie) moves across his line to view the header.
And then Deric jumps to save the header.
Puts a hand to the ball.
Which then hits the outside of the pole and bounces away! Truly an incredible save.
It's another unfortunate missed opportunity for NYCFC. One that would of probably sealed the game and provided a much need win, 3 points and morale booster for a team who has not won a game since March 15th!
The quality of play here is top notch. You have Poku who single-handedly creates a play out of thin air. He finds a wide open powdered blue jersey (I highly doubt he knew it was Jeb) drifting into the penalty box. Who else on our team can create this type of play? Perhaps Villa. You also have Mix creating a small screen to help Poku with his dribble. You of course have Jeb playing a heads up game by slipping into the box at the moment his defender wasn't looking. David Villa said it best in the post game interview "If Brovsky would of headed that ball high, instead of low, it would of been a goal" (paraphrased from Spanish).
NYCFC's season has been a poor one and if we swap jersey colors you can easily envision us allowing a team to create this type of scoring opportunity. Wait, now that I think of it, it almost resembles the play the New York Red Bulls created on their first goal against NYCFC.
There are a lot of questions Kreis is going to have to answer now that Mix is being called up to the USMNT. He'll be without his star midfielder for two games and will have to tinker once again with the lineup. Should Poku start? Will he keep the same diamond 4-4-2 formation he started this game with or switch to the flat 4-4-2 he ended up with?
Time will tell us soon enough and I am positive that NYCFC's "winning time" is closing in on us as well.
GO NYCFC!
I would love some feedback and if you enjoyed this breakdown you may enjoy the NYCFC Fan Podcast which you can subscribe to on iTunes or Stitcher (see signature below). Thanks
