If New York City FC are going to earn their first win in more than two months, they must figure out a way to defeat an opponent who rarely loses at home.
That opponent is CF Montreal, who enter Saturday’s contest boasting one of the best home records in the MLS and looking to push NYCFC’s winless skid to 12 matches in league play.
NYCFC (4-7-9, 21 points) enters this week in 13th place in the Eastern Conference after going 0-5-6 in MLS play since April 29, while dropping five points behind D.C. United for the final playoff spot. The club matched its longest winless skid in team history after an 0-7-4 run during their inaugural season in 2015.
Along with Toronto FC, NYCFC is one of two teams without a road win, and they dropped to 0-5-6 away from home with a 1-1 draw at Portland last Saturday.
Keaton Parks scored the tying goal off a set piece in the 51st minute, but NYCFC was held to one goal or fewer for the ninth time during the winless skid and 15th time overall.
“Mistakes happen in the game, but I think the team has been forced to mature, forced to become resilient,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. “You see a team today that hasn’t won in 10, goes one-nil down and comes in at halftime one-nil down. Many teams will break and split and the dressing room will start to splinter. What we see is a group that comes together stronger.”
Montreal (8-9-2, 26 points) is on a six-match home winning streak and has not allowed a goal at home since D.C. United’s Lewis O’Brien scored on April 15. During its six-match home winning streak, Montreal has scored 12 times, with eight of those tallies coming in the second half.
Montreal is returning home after settling for a 0-0 draw at Charlotte last Saturday when Jonathan Sirois made four saves and helped his team get a point, especially with his play in the final 20 minutes.
“I am very happy with the team and the collective performance,” Sirois said. “We wanted to solidify our performance on the road for a while, so it’s a good first step for the future.”
–Field Level Media