NYCFC takes on the Philadelphia Union on Sunday in their MLS Eastern Conference semifinal matchup at Subaru Park in Chester, PA.
City could not make it past this stage of the playoffs last season, falling 2-0 to cross-town rivals Red Bull New York at Citi Field in the first-ever Hudson River Derby playoff match.
With the November international break falling between Round 1 and the conference semifinals, head coach Pascal Jansen has had two weeks to get the NYCFC squad ready for their biggest match of the season so far. However, star striker and top scorer Alonso Martínez tore his ACL and meniscus while playing in Costa Rica’s World Cup qualifier match against Haiti last Thursday.
“It’s a big blow for them,” Danny Higginbotham, former Premier League midfielder and TV analyst for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, told amNY. “NYC has played without him before, against Red Bulls away, when [Nicolás] Fernández Mercau played as a false 9, which could happen. They were excellent and won that game.”
The Boys in Blue blitzed the Red Bulls that September evening — Fernández Mercau broke the deadlock within two minutes as City did the double over the Red Bulls with a 3-2 win.
Higginbotham also highlighted the need for a fast start from New York when they go to Chester. The Union had the second-best home record behind NYCFC’s Round 1 opponent, Charlotte.
“The first 15 minutes are all about making the fans a problem for the home players,” Higginbotham said. “Because when the fans start to get nervous, and like I say, I’ve been in that position myself, those nerves translate onto the pitch.”
NYCFC has made it a habit of scoring in the first half recently, capitalizing on their early domination to lead the match before the break in both their away matches during the Round 1 series against Charlotte FC. Martínez scored in the 34th minute in Game 1, which was enough to split the two sides, while Fernández Mercau scored in the second minute of added time at the end of the first period in Game 3 in a 3-1 win.
Jansen will also be without midfield duo Andres Perea, who has become one of the first names on the teamsheet as a box-to-box midfielder, and Aidan O’Neill. Perea fractured his ankle in that Game 3 win in Charlotte, while O’Neill picked up a second yellow to receive a one-match suspension.
Justin Haak has played in the center back pairing alongside captain Thiago Martins all season long, but is traditionally a defensive midfielder. Higginbotham does not see Haak returning to his former position because “we’ve seen in the playoffs, Haak and Martins have proven to be one of the best center back partnerships in MLS,” and does not see Jansen breaking up that partnership.
Another potential replacement in the middle of the pitch is 18-year-old Jonathan Shore. The young midfielder has had a breakout year with his hometown team, scoring his first league goal in a 4-3 away win in Dallas. While he has not played a playoff match minute yet, Sunday’s conference semifinal will be a good test for the academy product.
“I thought he looked like he belonged — he didn’t look overly nervous, wanted the ball all of the time,” Higginbotham said. “The central midfield position for New York will be huge, because you’d better be good with the ball at your feet, and you better not be taking too many chances, because this is a Philadelphia Union team that will just swarm all over you, and they want chaos.”
On the other side, Philadelphia head coach Bradley Carnell has had three weeks to work with his players after seeing off the Chicago Fire in two matches over Round 1. It might mean an extra week of rest compared to their New York counterparts, but it has been a pitfall for past teams, as the players not on international duty are not as sharp.
“I just think the way that Carnell sees the game, the way that he organizes his players, I would probably say that for a number of teams, this could potentially be an issue, and we’ve seen it in years gone by, but I don’t think it will be with this Philadelphia Union team,” Higginbotham said.
