NYCFC prepares for ‘do-or-die’ clash with Charlotte on Friday

New York City FC (NYCFC) coach Pascal Jansen says his side is ready for a “do-or-die” clash with Charlotte FC Friday night after suffering an agonizing penalty shootout defeat at Yankee Stadium Saturday night as they missed the chance to close out their best-of-three play-off series in two games.

New York made a dream start to the series with a 1-0 win in Charlotte on Oct. 28 courtesy of a superb solo goal from Alonso Martinez but struggled to replicate that performance on home soil Saturday night, with Charlotte striking the crossbar twice in the first half.

Charlotte leveled up the series by claiming a 7-6 victory on penalties after the game ended scoreless. NYCFC’s Augustin Ojeda and Julian Fernandez missed their spot kicks after Matt Freese had given the hosts an early advantage by denying Charlotte’s Ashley Westwood from the spot.

Now, Jansen’s side must win on the road once again if they are to progress to the Eastern Conference semi-finals, but the Dutch coach believes that the Game 1 victory in Charlotte has given his players confidence ahead of Friday’s series decider. He is also taking encouragement from NYCFC’s four games against Charlotte this season, which has seen New York win twice and draw once, keeping three clean sheets.

“We beat the odds. We won there,” Jansen said. “If you look at the four games that we’ve played so far, three clean sheets.

“We were quite dominant as well in their stadium, so those are ingredients that give us a lot of confidence going into this game – that it’s possible. Now we have to make it happen.”

Charlotte boasted the best home record in the MLS regular season, underlining the task ahead of NYCFC Friday night, and Jansen said his side’s quality on the ball has to be at a higher level than it was at Yankee Stadium if they are to book a place in the semi-finals.

“But in order to beat a team like Charlotte, which is a very good team and well-organized, you have to be very, very clinical on the ball,” Jansen said.

He said Game 3 will be decided by small margins and said his side is “fully aware” of what they need to do on Friday night, forecasting a “heated game” in Charlotte.

NYCFC attacker Nico Fernandez, meanwhile, said Friday’s decider will come down to the “small details.”

Fernandez added that New York are now aware of the “ins and outs” of the Charlotte team after facing them twice in the last two weeks.

“We’ve been playing each other three times in a row now, so as players, we know kind of our ways and our ins and outs,” Fernandez said.