9/4 - NYCFC vs NSH

New York City FC vs Nashville SC

New York City FC and Nashville SC played to a scoreless draw at Yankee Field on Friday night. Nashville dictated proceedings, committing lots of numbers forward and counter pressing well to keep the ball in New York's half. Their pressure culminated in a couple great openings, including a Hany Mukhtar miss the 'Yotes captain will have nightmares about. The second half didn't provide much in terms of goal mouth action, with both teams lacking decisiveness and quality in the final third. New York City failed to register a single shot attempt in the second 45. Nashville weren't much better, managing just one shot on target which was well saved by NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese. It's two points dropped for the Coyotes as they looked to strengthen their hold of the Suppoters' Shield.

The draw extends NYC's winless run to seven matches in all competitions, five of those in MLS play. They've fallen to seventh in the Eastern Conference, and are in a precarious position with two points separating them from tenth place Red Bulls. If they are going to end this poor run of form, they need to figure out how to be less one-dimensional in attack. This was actually one of their strengths last season, when they were able to operate on the front foot or on the counter with equal efficiency. Against Nashville, direct play was their only route to creating danger. The Pigeons really struggled in buildup. They primarily built out of a 3-5-2 shape, with right back Tayvon Gray staying home while left back Kevin O'Toole advanced to become the wingback opposite Augustín Ojeda. This pushed Bénie Traoré into the forward line alongside fellow new signing Luighi. In principal, this structure works. It gets the best out of their personnel, as Ojeda thrives in wide areas while Traoré is more suited to come inside and combine. It also allows O'Toole to push forward and make intelligent runs in the left channels.

However, NYCFC wasn't able to establish enough control to reap the benefits of this system. They were only able to relieve pressure by playing through Nicolás Fernández Mercau or playing hopeful long balls over the top. Fernández Mercau has been excellent at getting NYCFC out of pressure this season; he trails only Richie Laryea in fouls drawn in MLS. They can't rely on him every time they're in trouble, though, and against Nashville's press they resorted to direct play. This means they weren't able to commit numbers forward from midfield, which is a key part of how New York City generates chances in the attacking phase of play. O'Toole and central midfielder Andrés Perea are both great at filling spaces when NYC is possessing in the final third. More importantly, they were unable to get Augustín Ojeda high. He was their most dangerous player on the night, causing the Nashville back line problems the few times he got isolated in advanced areas on the right.

The performance wasn't great, but there is good news for New York City. First, a draw against Nashville isn't a poor result. Second, they are getting healthier. Thiago Martins played the full 90 for the first time since July. Their captain is an instrumental part of their team and was very solid against one of MLS' best. Another welcome sight for the Pigeons was seeing Aiden O'Neill came off the bench, making his first appearance since the World Cup. The Australian gave NYCFC more control than they had at any point before his introduction. Continuity in central midfield has been an issue for the Bronx club of late, with Perea finding a different midfielder alongside him in seemingly every match. Getting Aiden O'Neill alongside their number 8 will boost New York's chances of remaining in the playoffs. Perhaps most encouraging was the inclusion of Alonso Martínez on the bench. The Costa Rican didn't feature on Friday, and is still far from full fitness, but having any version of Martínez available makes New York City FC a better team.

Nashville imposed their style of play, even on the road. Out of possession, Nashville pressed out of a narrow 4-4-2. The emphasis for this structure is restricting space in the middle for their opponents. The forwards stayed close to each other and the wingers pinched in tight to force their opponent to go wide. This was effective; Sands and Perea weren't able to get on the ball with any frequency for New York City. Nashville also set their line of confrontation high, trying to force turnovers in their opponent's half. This was how they created their best chance of the day, where Espinoza won possession in NYC's penalty area and poked the ball to Mukhtar, who hit it off the crossbar. Pressing high comes with risk, as Nashville leaves a lot of space behind their back line. This is why center back duo Jeisson Palacios and Maxwell Woledzi is so crucial for the Coyotes. Both of them are very comfortable defending in space and have the capability to erase counterattacks. They handled NYCFC's direct approach well, limiting New York to under 1.0 xG.

In possession, Nashville sends lots of numbers forward. Both fullbacks get extremely high to overload the wide areas. This is where Nashville are at their most effective, particularly down the right side with Cristian Espinoza and Andy Najar. Both are expert chance creators, and do such a good job of timing their runs down the right touch line to find space to deliver a cross. With Saad and Baker-Whiting taking charge of the left flank of late, Nashville SC is dangerous from both sides of the field, something they didn't have in the first half of the year. Centrally, Mukhtar is given a free role to find the game. The German is so good at finding vulnerable spots when opponents commit too many men to the exterior. Surridge is tasked with occupying the center backs, but this isn't his only job. When Nashville builds down the left side, he drifts out provide an option, which triggers Saad to tuck inside and Mukhtar to take the position vacated by the Englishman. When Nashville builds down the right side, Surridge seeks out the back post, awaiting service from Cristian Espinoza or Andy Najar. These clever movements make space for not only Sam Surridge, but his teammates as well.

On Friday, Nashville struggled to maximize the width. The starting positions for the wide players was too narrow, and the Coyotes needed to get the balls to wider areas quicker. Too often the switches of play came slowly and methodically, not allowing Espinoza or Saad the time or space to take on their defenders. Espinoza in particular is so lethal when he has the ability to pick out a cross, as he did to find Surridge in one of Nashville's better looks at goal of the match. For Nashville SC, it's another low scoring match away from Geodis Park. They have now scored 11 goals and allowed just 5 through 11 games on their travels. The Coytoes still have a healthy lead in the Supporters' Shield race; they are ten points ahead of Vancouver and Miami, although the Whitecaps have a game in hand. The rest of the week will go a long way in determining if Nashville can remain atop the Eastern Conference. They travel to Toronto on Wednesday before paying Inter Miami a visit on Saturday. Nashville must find a way to score more goals away from home if they want to maintain home field advantage all through the playoffs.