NYCFC are now 5-0-0 at Yankee Stadium in 2018
Yankee Stadium, NYCFC — Three games without victory but that’s a streak they were aiming to avoid back home at Yankee Stadium following two tough games on the road.
The Colorado Rapids provided the opposition in a game which was preceded by a special ceremony for El Guaje to mark the milestone strike he netted last time he was in the building three weeks prior.
Head Coach Patrick Vieira made three changes to the side which started the 2-2 tie at LAFC, bringing Ronald Matarrita, Ebenezer Ofori and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi into a 3-4-3 formation.
City roared out from the first whistle and were only denied an early go-ahead goal by Tim Howard who made a fine sprawling save to deny the in-form Ismael Tajouri-Shradi who had cut inside from the right flank.
Chances continued to pour in on Howard’s goal but there was nothing the long-time USMNT goalkeeper could do about Villa’s opener on 22’, a cool sidefooted finish from a Maxi Moralez slide rule pass.
That was the way it stayed until the break on a first half which NYCFC enjoyed near-total domination but the team really put their foot to the accelerator pedal in the second 45’, doubling the lead just five minutes into the second half.
Jo Inge Berget created the chance with a sublime touch and shot which came back off Howard and was followed up on by Matarrita who looped his header over the goalkeeper.
Five minutes later, Moralez slammed in his fifth goal of the year from the edge of the area to make it 3-0, before Villa rounded off the scoring with his second of the day: a finish just as cool as his first.
That kept City perfect through five games at home this season and marked David Villa Day in memorable style.
The 21,000 fans who braved the rain in the Bronx will certainly never forget that they were here to see it.
NOTES
- David Villa scored his sixth and seventh goals of the 2018 season
- They were the 403rd and 404th goals of his career
- Ronald Matarrita scored his first goal of the season
- Maxi Moralez netted his fifth of the campaign
- NYCFC are now 5-0-0 at Yankee Stadium in 2018
QUOTES
NYCFC Head Coach Patrick Vieira:
On Matarrita scoring a goal leading up to the World Cup …
“I really pleased for both of them, Rodney and Mata, for them to be in the squad going to the World Cup. As a football club we are really proud to have those two players to be a part of the World Cup. Mata has been really unlucky with injuries and with the performance of Ben but he has been positive and keeps working hard, he was a bit tired at the end but it was good that he managed to play the 90 minutes. Now he has to be thinking about the national team and how he can go there and give his best and try to do well.”
On David Villa continuing to play at a high level…
“I think you have to give credit to the players around him. I think he performed well, he didn’t play at his best today but still scored two goals because of the players around work hard and work well. I think we have a system that allows him to express himself, we have players around who work hard to try to help him to express himself and of course when you put it all together I think that that allows him to show his talent. Even when he will be 45 and you put him on front of goal he will continue to keep scoring goals because of the quality, he is a goal scorer. I think what is really important is to create a system and the system that we have fits his talents really well and we have players around him that don’t get much credit, but they are working really hard to allow him and the players around to express their talent. I think all the credit goes to the team and of course to him because you have to need to finish those chances, but I’m not surprised. He’s been doing it since he was fifteen years old so he knows how to score goals, he’s so calm in front of the goal he’s so composed and he knows where the goal is.”
On the second half mentality …
“I think it’s just the attitude, we came back in the second half with better concentration, determination and I think we respected the game more in the second half than we did in the first half. We know that we are a good team we have really good players, but that’s not enough to win football matches we have to respect the game plan, we have to respect the game, we have to play together because if we think one player will make us win the game its wrong. That’s why I felt that we played much better in the second half, we played as a team and that allowed us to create those chances and score the goals.”
On having a better collective attitude…
“I think when you look at the game, when you look at the first game of the season and all the games so far I always say that this it’s a part of the game that we need to improve. We learned it in a really strong (hard) way when we went to Portland, when we played the Red Bulls and even in LA it was really tough, really difficult. This aspect of the game we need to improve but we’ve only played 10, 11 games and we will get better as a team no doubt about it but if we want to improve, if we want to be more solid as a team we need to be more consistent on the way that we go on the field to play a game. If we don’t have that consistency it will be really difficult for us to be a good team because that is the basis of a good team. I challenge the team, the players to have the right attitude in every game that we play.”
NYCFC Forward David Villa:
On David Villa Day in NYC…
“Well first of all, thank you to everybody on this special day for me. I want to start with thanking the fans because unfortunately the weather wasn’t that great today but they still came and that’s fantastic even on a cold rainy day like today they still came to support not just me on this day to celebrate my 400 goals but to support the team as well. It was not just an important day for me, but for the club as well, and it ended well for us.
On the goals and the opportunities created in todays game, especially in the final third
“Well I think we started playing well from the beginning. We trained all week and prepared differently from what we’ve been doing all season for this game. Its important to have different tactics because teams know how we play and prepare well defensively for us. Today we played with a different system, maybe in the first half it took us a little longer to move the ball but we changed that in the second half. We were able to move the ball much quicker from one side to the other and we were able to find the spaces we needed and with the quality we have on this team we’re able to score goals and do things well.”
On the team’s mentality so far this season
“This is important, the mentality of the team to understand that this is soccer and you can win and you can lose. The most important thing of course is to come back with a victory after you lose as quickly as possible. And after you get the victory not to be calm and try to get the victory again. This team as a whole showed this last year, we can make a mistake and lose a difficult game and come back because the identity is clear, the philosophy is clear, and we all know what we have to do on the field.”
NYCFC Goalkeeper Sean Johnson:
On returning home…
It was a really tough road stretch for us, but I think we showed some flashes in the LA game that we can be really hard to play against. To come home and build off of that good away result and dominate the game the way we did today was important for us. We deserve it, because we’ve been working really hard… you want to go out and do well every single game, this is just a small stepping stone that will give us a good idea of where we are now and what can build on going forward.
On adjusting to changes in the back line…
I think it’s just communication really… we’ve played a ton of matches together, so really build up was essentially the same. It makes it really easy when guys are really open to listening and also to talking. I’ve gotta be able to take information from guys and give it as well.
NYCFC Midfielder Alex Ring:
On playing a defensive midfield role…
It’s work that people don’t see or look at, but it helps the team… Much like coach who played the position, it’s important to shield the back four, win the ball in the midfield, and control the midfield… the game is won in the midfield.
On adjusting to a role as a central defender…
I think I play pretty much the same as I do in the midfield. I have to read the situation and see if I can win the ball, if not then I stay back and wait. You have to be smart about it, because now I don’t have a back four behind me so I have to be sure. Football is simple, you have to make decisions… and you have to make the right one.
NYCFC Forward Jo Inge Berget:
On if attacking players pay attention to their goal tally…
No, I’ve been around the game for a long time. The most important thing to do is to create the chances and to be there… and I feel like I am. When you’re on a roll, everything seems to go in, right now it doesn’t seem to go in, but as long as the other guys score… I’m happy as well. With today’s 4-0 win, I can’t complain about not scoring.
On if it’s difficult to remember defensive responsibilities when the formation changes…
No, I think we did well. When we play with two guys up top we have our fair share of defensive work as well. I believe we both did well today, there was a couple of times in the first half when we let them play a little bit too easy, but we corrected that in the second half and did a good job both defensively and offensively.
NYCFC Defender Ronald Matarrita:
On how much it helps to score a goal like he did today before going to the World Cup…
“It gives me extra hope. The goal was just an extra but I’ve been putting in hard work on and off the ball. The most important thing is that the team won. It’s more about the group than an individual performance.”
On looking forward to the World Cup with Rodney Wallace…
“As teammates we are very anxious for it as you can only live this opportunity once in a lifetime, but we’re going to take advantage, work hard, work as a team and we’re looking to progress farther than the last team did in the last World Cup.”
On coming back from injury…
“It’s been a difficult year with injuries, but God has a plan for all of us. Personally, I had to be mentally strong to recover, but now that I’m back it’s all about putting in a team effort and working hard for the Club and the national team.”
Colorado Rapids Head Coach Anthony Hudson
You played a tough team today, what are your thoughts?
“It’s a tough one to take, especially coming to play in a place like this against such a tough team, we saw a huge amount of quality in their team. To come here and to have any chance you have to come with a lot of strength and we would have to be at our very best.”
The first 45 seemed to be half and half, what did you see your team do good?
“In fairness our team seemed to be slightly different today, which is always going to be tough coming to a place like this playing this type of opposition and missing playing some as well is going to be really tough…they were far more clinical in the final third.”
The next two games are at home, what opportunities do you have like that to build some momentum?
“We always look forward to this little bit, what’s important is to get players back. We completely change this team and rebuilt this team, to come here and get these points we need everyone available and that’s our task now, to get everyone back and everyone on the same page.”
COLORADO RAPIDS DEFENDER DEKLAN WYNNE
Thoughts on the game…
“Obviously it didn’t go our way. Giving up a couple goals straight after halftime didn’t help. It got us out of the game. We just look forward to next weekend (at home).”
On playing NYCFC in New York…
“Obviously they are a quality team. One of the toughest places to come.”
On playing at home the next two games…
“We have been on quite a tough stretch. That’s finally over and we will be back at home. We hope to get some points in the next two games.”
COLORADO RAPIDS DEFENDER TOMMY SMITH
Thoughts on the game...
“Everyone is really disappointed. We have to look forward to two home games (at home) and hopefully we can make up some points there.”
On playing at home the next two games…
“Last few games have been tough. One of the toughest schedules in the league in the last few weeks. We need to make sure we pick up some points at home. Its going to be very important starting next with Portland.”
On playing in Colorado with the high altitude…
“I think the last time I played in that sort of altitude would have been at the Azteca (Mexico) at a playoff with New Zealand. It takes a while to get used to. Probably two or three weeks.”
