NYCFC: 3 Things We Learned Against Sporting Kansas City

Thanks to a late game goal on a rain-soaked evening in the Bronx, New York City FC earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City.

Despite fielding a second-choice starting XI, New York City FC earned all three points against a strong Sporting Kansas City side last night. It wasn’t the prettiest of victories all things considered, but we learned a lot about the resiliency of this club and how they’ll fare going forward.

NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 13: Andrea Pirlo (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Andrea Pirlo May Have a Role After All

Andrea Pirlo has been out of favor with manager Patrick Vieira due to his poor form this season, but he got the start against Sporting due to the lack depth in the midfield. As it would turn out, playing Pirlo would be the right decision.

The Italian international played surprisingly well and was great in distribution, setting up many scoring chances for the Boys in Blue. Most importantly though, Pirlo showed a much improved defensive work rate and made several key defensive plays in the midfield to take Kansas City off the ball.

It may be a small sample size, but Pirlo may have a role going forward if he keeps his current form.

ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 05: Alexander Callens (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /

The Defense is Deep Enough to Keep Winning

NYCFC played without two starting defenders last night due to a rash of injuries, but the patchwork defensive line played surprisingly well against Sporting. The quartet of R.J. Allen, Frederic Brillant, Alexander Callens and Ben Sweat showed great communication at the back throughout the match, limiting the visitors to one shot on target.

Sporting wasn’t the strongest test they’ll have considering the club has only scored six goals on the road this year, but it’s encouraging to see that there’s good chemistry between all four despite not regularly playing together. The Boys in Blue will always have a chance to win as long as the back four continues to display the cohesiveness they showed last night.

BRIDGEVIEW, IL – MARCH 06: Joao Meira (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

The Boys in Blue Created Opportunities But Lacked That Killer Instinct

Despite everyone’s concern, NYCFC still had that creative offensive spark without David Villa in the starting XI and had several opportunities to score Wednesday night. However, the Cityzens lacked the composure to put the ball in the back of the net. Several players were guilty of taking one touch too many outside the box and rarely tested Tim Melia when they did take a shot on goal.

The epitome of NYCFC’s ineptitude in front of goal was when Khiry Shelton found a way to block Sean Okoli’s far post flick from going in. Luckily the Boys in Blue finally broke through thanks to Jack Harrison’s 84th-minute goal, but the margin of victory should have been much higher than it was.

Notes:

More from Empire Writes Back

NYCFC’s victory over Sporting marks their first win in three games against the Kansas City side.

Harrison’s goal was his first since June 29th against Minnesota United.

NYCFC are now unbeaten in their last five matches, matching their club record set in 2016.

Last night’s match marks the first time Pirlo has played the full 90 minutes since May 17th against Real Salt Lake.

NYCFC improved their 2017 record against the Western Conference to 5-2-1 with their win over Sporting.

Next: Five New York Giants Who Will Make or Break 2017 Season

PORTLAND, OR – MARCH 03: Diego Valeri (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

Up Next: Portland Timbers, 9/9, 5:30 ET Kick

The Portland Timbers currently sit in second place in the Western Conference and have scored 19 goals on the road, tied for third-best in MLS. However, those goals haven’t amounted to much success. The Timbers have conceded a whopping 28 goals and recorded only three wins in 14 matches away from Portland.

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