Draw sting
Late goal hands NYCFC painful tie
Dominic again.
Multiple early missed chances let the lurking Montreal Impact forward play the villain again, as his equalizer stalled New York City FC for a second straight season in a 1-1 draw on a bitterly cold Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
“The game today was déjà vu,” NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira said about Oduro’s 68th minute stunner. “I remember last year it was the same kind of scenario because we controlled the game. We were the better team … and the game today was the same.”
NYCFC teased fans last week with strong link-up play, sound defending and finding ways to finish, especially early. But against the Impact — who came in winless — the home side made it difficult to come out on top when just four of their 18 shot attempts landed on target.
“Today, we create and we only scored one,” said Oduro strikes Vieira, whose team left 11 shot attempts off target. “Of course, it’s frustration. We have to keep working because [that is] the best way to improve and score goals in games,”
From the opening whistle, NYCFC had opportunities to put the game away. Even though winger Rodney Wallace finished a rebound to score his second goal in consecutive weeks right before halftime, NYCFC’s performance undoubtedly will be marred by the chances they wasted.
In the third minute, David Villa — who scored two goals last week against D.C. United — played a perfect pass to an unmarked Jack Harrison in Montreal’s box, but the 20year-old skied his attempt from five yards out.
“I’ll be looking back [on that attempt] to maintain my composure in front of the net because that was an important part of the game,” said Harrison of his botched opportunity. He wasn’t the only one. Midfielder Alexander Ring had an chance in the 19th minute from almost the same exact spot, but also lobbed one into the stands. In the 65th minute, midfielder Maxi Moralez spoiled an explosive counterattack when his shot skipped wide of the net.
Those failed chances allowed Montreal to sneak back into the game. In the 68th minute, Oduro basked in boos as a napping Ronald Matarritta allowed the Ghanaian to slip past him on a lofted ball to beat goalkeeper Sean Johnson for the tie.
It was Oduro last April who scored in the early minutes of stoppage time to help Montreal escape The Bronx with a draw.
“We have a 1-0 lead and we had chances to kill the game,” said goalkeeper Sean Johnson, whose four saves kept Montreal in check. “But if we can’t manage to score again, I think defensively we got to really bunker down to see a 1-0 result out.”