Photo by Jeff Swinger/USA Today Sports
By RYAN TOLMICH
Jason Kreis’ return to his old stomping grounds proved to be a disappointing one.
In his first game at Rio Tinto Stadium since departing the club following the 2013 season, Kreis’ New York City FC fell, 2-0, to Real Salt Lake to extend the expansion team’s winless streak to 10 games.
After seeing Josh Saunders make a pair of big-time saves to keep RSL off the board early, John Stertzer finally got the best of the NYCFC goalkeeper in the 25th minute for his first MLS goal.
Following a turnover in the midfield, Devon Sandoval flicked a header backwards into the path of an onrushing Stertzer, who dashed into the NYCFC box before rifling a shot off Saunders’ arm and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Alvaro Saborio doubled the RSL advantage in the 49th minute, getting a head to a Luke Mulholland cross to help RSL cruise to victory over the team’s former coach.
NYCFC’s best chance came just moments before Sterzer’s opener as Mix Diskerud turned and fired a long-distance shot off the crossbar.
From there, the visitors proved to be wasteful, firing 12 shots on the night with only one forcing a save out of Nick Rimando. On the other end, Saunders, who stopped high-quality Sandoval chances twice in the opening 15 minutes, finished with four stops on the evening.
With the win, Real Salt Lake snags the team’s 17th point of the season and eighth from the club’s last five matches. Meanwhile, New York City remains winless since a March 15 defeat of the New England Revolution
RSL will look to build off the victory in a midweek matchup with the LA Galaxy on May 27, while NYCFC looks to end their winless streak on May 30 with a game against the Houston Dynamo at Yankee Stadium.
Here are the match highlights:
This NYCFC team has become a whipping boy for MLS teams. Of course this is mls so that can change.
Kries is a good coach but let’s not compare him to arena and Schmidt who’ve been in the league as coaches since kries was a player. I still think he’ll continue to be one of mls’s best young coaches. Right now his team talent isn’t good enough and I question if man city is the right fit for him. Time will tell.
Let’s go Cosmos!!
It will be funny watching Don Garber’s head explode when NYCFC ends the season stuck on one win.
Kreis is still a really, really good coach. The fact is that it is really hard to be an expansion team in this league. MLS has some very good overall teams. The star power of other leagues is not there. But, you have to be a complete team to win in this league. This is especially true in the Western Conference which has a number of experienced and talented teams who have played together for years. Kreis will put his stamp on NYCFC just as he did with RSL. It took him about 2 and a half years to get there with RSL. As an RSL fan, I would take Kreis back in a heart beat. I personally hope he is the next USMNT manager.
RIght now, NYCFC has some massive holes. Wingert is not a CB and Hernandez was always overrated and is now just way past his prime. The midfield also has some gaps with guys who just should not be starting in this league. They need a true destroyer, #6. Jacobson just cannot play on a contending MLS team. Villa is looking very sharp and displaying a great work rate. He clearly wants to be in MLS and wants to win. But he needs some more help around him than just Mix. Lampard with Grabavoy and Ballouchy could be a nice midfield if they can find a #6. They will get better.
As an RSL fan, I hope that NYCFC FO does something stupid like lose patience with Kreis and fire him. I would take him back in a heart beat.
Jeff Cassar says “Thanks!”
I am curious to see how they’ll lineup when Lampard arrives. aren’t both he and Mix #8s? maybe 10s? I kinda see Lampard as a clear upgrade to Mix’s abilities, which makes me wonder where Mix will play. will they switch to a 433 moving Villa out wide like he has played before sometimes, using a 3 man mid of lampard mix and grabavoy? i have no idea. interested to see…
“It is really hard to be an expansion team in” in any league. Soccer is not like American sports; it’s much more team oriented. You can’t assemble a group of guys who have never played together and expect it to turn out well.
Having said that, Kreis might be a good MLS coach (though I prefer Vermes and Berhalter) but managing the USNT is a whole different ballgame. We need someone with experience at the highest levels managing players of that caliber.
1.) Kreis played a role in assembling this roster. He should be held somewhat accountable.
2.) He is far too loyal to guys he knows from RSL even as they underperform.
3.) The calvary ain’t coming. Lampard is going to experience the same lackluster first season that all of these guys seem to have. Adjusting to travel and climate after (sorta) playing a full EPL season isn’t easy, especially pushing forty
Its all mentally, the pressure is eating NYC from left to right.Then if u ask yourself, who are the best teams in the east, I say RB and NE and the rest are kinda of a mystery, not lik the west. So if NYC recover from their injuries and broken mentality and stop worrying about their hipster image, then they can take a wild card spot.Another very important fact or opinion, kreis knew what he got himself into and he looks lost, speechless, confused, unhappy, depressed. If I was a nyc fan I would be disappointed with kreis, isn’t he the next big mls coach besides arena and sigi.I always thought he was overrated as a coach, and probably villa would coach the team better, just wait till lampard arrives.Rep
ET phone home. DCU has played more than half the season without espindola, all but one game without their top offseason signing. Silva is injured as is Deleon. The highest paid player on DC is probably done, and this team still holds the top spot in the east, with a game in hand over the second place team. The real mystery is how good this team can be with all the pieces in place.