Photo by Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports

BY MICHAEL PENG

PURCHASE, N.Y. — Tommy McNamara got off to a tremendous start to his career when he scored in his MLS debut with the now-defunct Chivas USA last season. Then, an ACL tear halted his rise after just six games, forcing him to work his way back up again.

Nearly 14 months after that injury, McNamara got his first start with his new club, New York City FC, last week against the Philadelphia Union. McNamara proceeded to respond in impressive fashion, scoring a wonder goal from 25 yards out that was ultimately named SBI’s Goal of the Week.

“You’ve just got to accept it. It is what it is,” McNamara said at the New York City FC’s training session at SUNY Purchase on Thursday. “You can’t really change it or take back the injury or the surgery, you’ve just got to stay positive and try to get better every day.

“It feels good, it’s always a nice feeling when you score,” McNamara added. “But what feels even better, what’s more important is we got the three points and we were kind of able to break that streak that was going.”

McNamara’s goal helped NYCFC defeat the Philadelphia Union, 2-1, last week and snapped the club’s 11-match winless streak.

Head coach Jason Kreis said McNamara brings something to the table that he has been looking for in his team lately, something that had been lacking as the team struggled in recent weeks and months.

“I think sometimes that’s what you need, somebody to come in with a little bit of a fresh perspective,” Kreis said. “Somebody who hasn’t had to bear a lot of the burden of the difficult results that we’ve had for so long here, just comes in and throw cautions to the wind a little bit and takes opportunities. So, hats off to him and I’m glad he can do that for us.”

Two weeks ago after NYCFC’s 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo at home, Kreis said that he wanted his guys to take more chances and be more brave and confident in their abilities. And sure enough, McNamara was the one who stepped up to that challenge last week by letting one go from distance.

During the training session on Thursday, McNamara ripped another shot from a similar spot and saw the same result, drawing “SportsCenter Top 10” jokes from a few teammates afterward.

“I’m not someone who really lacks confidence,” McNamara said. “I know when I was out on the field and (Kwadwo) Poku played me a good ball into space and I just knew I would give it a go and it worked out well.”

“I like that he does things a little differently and he’s just a little bit different in his game,” Kreis added. “When you look at it at first and you’re kind of not sure of what to make of it, but at the end of it all, you see training session after training session he’s scoring goals, making assists. He steps into that game and makes that wonderful goal that gets us going in to the right direction. It’s the improv that you have to like with guys like that.”

McNamara has appeared in three games prior to last week’s start, and one can only imagine performances like last week would earn him more playing time if he can keep it up.

“It’s going to take hard work and it’s going to take improving yourself every day,” McNamara said. “I’m just kind of taking it day by day, trying to get better each day and try to prove that I can help make this team successful on the field.”