Previewing Houston Dynamo at New York City FC with Hudson River Blue
(image via New York City FC)
The Houston Dynamo make their first trip to the east coast this season to visit the Big Apple. We talked to our friend Matthew Mangam from Hudson River Blue to get some insight on New York City FC ahead of tonight’s match.
Bayou City Soccer (BCS): The Dynamo haven't played at Yankee Stadium since 2019. It's a very unique setup for soccer. Does it play that much differently than bigger pitches?
Hudson River Blue (HRB): For NYCFC, no, for other teams, yes. NYCFC is statistically better when playing at Citi Field, but still boast a solid record at Yankee Stadium. We saw last weekend Gregg Berhalter make comments about the size of the pitch before the Chicago Fire played there. Many teams have to try to hold onto the ball because of the tighter confines of the pitch, which plays more of an impact for teams that don't come to New York often, like Houston.
BCS: Pascal Jansen has taken over as NYCFC head coach this season. How do you assess his tenure early on and how does his team like to play tactically?
HRB: We've started to see Pascal Jansen's fluid attacking style of play finally start to take shape. There's been many up-and-down performances, but when the team is clicking, the product on the pitch looks good. Jansen has done a great job in getting the most out of players like Birk Risa at left-back, Justin Haak at center-back, and 18-year-old Jonny Shore as a defensive midfielder. I still think the attack needs to be more consistent, but the defense looks good and the team has defeated some good opponents already — like Philadelphia, FC Cincinnati, and the Red Bulls.
BCS: New York City's defense has been good this season, conceding just 15 goals in league play. Matt Freese has gotten called into the USMNT. What has made him and the NYCFC backline so good this season?
HRB: As I mentioned above, Justin Haak has transformed into a solid center-back despite starting his career as a midfielder. With true left-back Kevin O'Toole still out injured, Birk Risa — a left-footed defender — has slotted in at left-back for the time being. But when NYCFC have possession, Haak moves up into the midfield for an overload, while Risa slides over to center-back to make it a three-back formation. After a shaky start to the season, Thiago Martins looks like his normal self and the battle at right-back between Tayvon Gray and Mitja Ilenič is so interesting to watch. Matt Freese is Matt Freese, making save after save. So, the backline has finally clicked, and even when O'Toole comes back, I expect it to be just as strong.
BCS: Alonso Martinez is bagging the goals for NYCFC this season. What about this team and attack has allowed Martinez to flourish?
HRB: It's funny, Alonso Martínez has eight goals this season, but he could definitely have more. He's missed a decent amount of big chances recently — including a penalty against Cincinnati — and hasn't looked like his true self at times. The NYCFC offense needs another consistent goal scorer, though. Hannes Wolf scored his fourth goal of the season last weekend, the second-most on the team, but ended a nine-game scoring drought with that goal. The team knows Martínez is the guy, so we see the defense and Maxi Moralez play balls to him all the time. He has the pace to get in behind and catch a backline sleeping, but recently he hasn't been clinical in front of net.
BCS: Are there any injury concerns for NYCFC heading into this match and what is your prediction for a lineup and score?
HRB: No Andrés Perea, Kevin O'Toole, or Malachi Jones. Freese; Risa, Haak, Martins, Ilenič; Shore, Parks, O'Neill; Wolf, Fernández, Martínez.
Things can change with the short amount of rest, but that is a general guess. I can see Strahinja Tanasijević starting at center-back, Agustín Ojeda on the wing, and even Mounsef Bakrar start as well. I think NYCFC wins 2-0.
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We want to thank Matthew for his time and wish our friends in New York City the best of luck tonight.