New York City FC hasn’t scored since St. Patrick’s Day, and its attack may take another step back this weekend.
NYCFC travels to Saint Paul to face Minnesota United on Saturday in the first game at Allianz Field. Coach Domènec Torrent said the Blues’ new striker, Heber, isn’t in the best shape after getting his first 27 minutes against the Montreal Impact last Saturday, and Alexandru Mitrita suffered a rib injury in the game, a scoreless draw.
“Heber is about, if he’s able, to play 45-50 minutes,” Torrent said Wednesday. “Mitri, it depends on the pain.”
Torrent emphasized he wanted to be careful with Mitrita’s usage to avoid exacerbating the problem. Together, the absence of a striker and winger would cause more problems for a lackluster attack.
“We have to score. We have to create more chances,” Torrent said. “Sometimes, we have to play quicker without the strikers because we pass the ball many, many times, but the possession of the ball, I say many times, doesn’t matter if you’re unable to create chances.”
Maxi Moralez, a piece of the attack, has missed the past two games. The midfielder trained on Wednesday. If he plays, he could feed Valentin Castellanos, who scored three goals in the practice, Torrent said. He had two shots on goal against Montreal.
“They are able to train in the training session and they are much better than they believe,” Torrent said. “When you have pressure, sometimes you are not able to score.”
