NYCFC is outplayed by the Columbus Crew but hung on for a point | OneFootball

Columbus is not a kind place to New York City FC.  They have one win between the old and new stadium, which occurred in 2017, and have suffered devastating losses too many times. As such, the Pigeons knew they had a difficult task before entering Saturday’s match against the Columbus Crew.

Both sides were missing multiple players due to international duty and injury.  NYCFC sadly was without nine, forcing the club to sign three players from the MLS Next Pro side to short-term contracts: Alex Rando, Peter Molinari, and recently signed NYCFC II player Seymour Reid.  Rando is an off-roster Homegrown while the other two are strictly with the MLS Next Pro side this season.

Still, Pascal Jansen put out a strong Starting XI with the available players.  The only one who was questionable was Mounsef Bakrar.  Everyone knew he would start with Alonso Martínez away on international duty.  But nobody knew whether the current backup striker could have a good game.  He scored during the preseason, but his lack of goals in 2024 was still extremely concerning.

In the end, neither Bakrar nor any of the attackers could find the back of the net.  NYCFC and Columbus played to a 0-0 draw.  The home team had all of the attack but the defensive visitors were strong enough to steal a point on the road.

NYCFC and the Crew split the spoils

NYCFC and the Crew were short some players, but the Pigeons were short in their play.  Columbus was clearly the better side from the start, and that meant the team from Queens had to play mostly on the defensive end.

Unfortunately, the trend of players coming out early continued in this fixture in the 36th minute.  Keaton Parks must have felt something in which he immediately knew he had to come out of the game.  Watching, it appeared to be a leg issue, and his emotions illuminated that this might not be something small.  Of course, one can only hope that is not the case, but the change in how the team was playing was truly seen afterward, especially for the rest of the first half and at the start of the second.

Columbus increased their domination and absolutely hammered the Pigeons, threatening them at every moment and outshooting them 23 to five.  Sure, NYCFC had moments of possession, but their lackluster quality in the final third hampered them.  This was best seen in the 67th minute when Maxi Moralez sent a beauty of a ball to Bakrar, who was making a fantastic run.  The forward failed to take a shot though, and the Crew subsequently closed in on him to steal the ball away.

That moment was probably enough to let Jansen give Reid a chance up front and center, for he and Máximo Carrizo came on around the 73rd minute for Bakrar and Hannes Wolf, making their debuts in Major League Soccer.

Alas, the two young players did not impact the match in the way Jansen hoped.  The Crew continued to attack and cause problems for NYCFC.  The defense stood strong, but almost saw a point slip by.  The home side found the back of the net thanks to Jacen Russell-Rowe, but thankfully the goal was ruled out due to an offside call on DeJuan Jones before the shot.