NEW YORK – For the fourth time in less than a month, Patrick Vieira sat in Yankee Stadium’s press room without a victory to speak of. Yet, with the same calm demeanor that defined his playing career, Vieira insisted everything will be alright.
There was no nervousness from the NYCFC manager following his side’s scoreless draw with the Chicago Fire. Following a performance headlined by missed opportunities, it was an effort that felt like a microcosm of NYCFC’s season so far: plenty of hope and bluster, but little to show for it.
Despite collecting just three of 12 possible points at home, Vieira insists there is progress being made by his team just five games into his MLS career. Even though it has seemingly all gone downhill since a season-opening 4-3 win over the same Fire, Vieira sees things quite differently.
“It is all about the philosophy I have and what we try to do here as a football club,” Vieira said. “Of course the win is really important, but we can only win if we play well. This is what is really important: Before thinking about winning games, we have to perform and we have to play well. Then, we can talk about why we aren’t winning or if there is some aspect of the game that we cannot control.
“What we can only control is our performance, and our performance has to be good, has to be high. If we play the same way we played against Orlando, the same we played today, especially in the second half, we will win football matches. I’m not worried at all about that.”
Captain David Villa echoed the same sentiments. The two World Cup winners insist NYCFC has deserved better from its recent games, but has missed out on victories due to a variety of circumstances.
On Sunday, that circumstance was Matt Lampson. The Fire goalkeeper, who Villa said was easily the Man of the Match, made eight saves, including several from the Spanish star on the doorstep.
Vieira believes the most important part of soccer is creating chances, something he saw his team do on Sunday, even if each of them was squandered.
“He made some great saves. We have to focus on ourselves,” NYCFC forward Tony Taylor told SBI. “We just have to focus on our finishing touch, and we have to put more focus on putting the ball into the back of the net.
“We go into every game wanting to win. That’s our main focus. We can’t look at the negatives. We just have to look at the positives. We’re creating our chances. We just have to keep working to finish and get the three points … We’re gelling a lot on both sides of the ball. The points will come as long as we continue working and focusing on all aspects of the game. The points will come.”
From the start of Sunday’s game, NYCFC was, in a way, facing an uphill battle as Vieira’s plans were immediately thrown by the wayside. Regular contributors Khiry Shelton and Mikey Lopez were removed from the gameday roster due to a disciplinary issue. Defender Ethan White, penciled into the starting lineup, had to be removed shortly before kickoff due to a hamstring ailment.
Even with the quick shuffling that turned White into Fredric Brillant, NYCFC put forth the club’s best defensive performance of the season. A majority of the game was spent in the Fire half with goalkeeper Josh Saunders making zero saves on the evening.
The Fire’s lone chance, controversially ruled back due to offside, came via a set piece, and Villa said the team only felt threatened on dead ball situations. All in all, it was NYCFC’s first shutout of the season, and with it comes continued hope that wins will soon be following.
“I think it’s always good not to concede goals,” Vieira said. “I think as a team, we defended better as a team, and I think Jason (Hernandez), Fred, (Ronald Matarrita) and Andoni (Iraola) had a fantastic game tonight. We looked really solid, and for me, the way I look at the game is to create more than we concede. I think tonight we created much, much more than we conceded.
“I think, as a team, we are defending much better. Still, there’s a frustration, of course, because our aim was to win the game, and I think it’s frustrating because we didn’t get the three points. At the same time, we’re still very positive with the way we played and the chances that we created. I think it’s just a question of time with winning the first home game. I’m not really worried at all about it because I know it will come, and if we keep playing the way we played, especially in the second half, and with the support that we had from the fans, I think the fans tonight were fantastic, then we will. No doubt about it.”