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Four questions with Oliver Strand of Hudson River Blue

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11 months ago

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Photo by Tracy Valko

Ladies and gentlemen, the Philadelphia Union may be back.

After a convincing second half against the New England Revolution last week, the Union returns to action for a game against rivals New York City FC at Citi Field on Saturday, May 27. With a 7:30 kickoff looming, we reached out to Oliver Strand and the gang at Hudson River Blue for an insider’s perspective into NYCFC.

Philadelphia Soccer Now: It’s been a rough start to the season for NYCFC, who sits in 10th place in the Eastern Conference right now. What’s gone wrong?

Oliver Strand: This is what a work in progress looks like, I guess. Very little of the team that won the MLS Cup in 2021 remains, or even that played Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference last year. NYCFC lost some key players in the offseason: Playmaker Maxi Moralez, center-back Alex Callens, and goalkeeper and captain Sean Johnson. None of them have really been replaced — the club signed a couple of promising prospects, but they’re not finished products. Add to that losing Taty Castellanos, and you have a team that no longer has four of their best players — and four of the best players in the league at their relative positions.
PSN: City has picked up one point from the past four games. What’s missing right now?
OS: See the answer above.
A more complete response: The defense is solid but not bulletproof — they almost always let in one goal that could have been prevented, but rarely more than that. The problem is that the team doesn’t score, or threaten to score, or even bring the ball into the attacking third. NYCFC have lost by the score of 1-0 four times, and drawn 1-1 four times. That’s 4 points out of 8 games and 1 point out of the last 4. But a little more offense and a more ruthless defense and that could’ve been 15 points out of 8 games, which puts NYCFC sitting towards the top of the table.
To be clear, New York City weren’t robbed in any of those games — those results are fair. But one or two players could be the difference between NYCFC in 10th place and in 2nd.
PSN: On the flip side, is there something that City is doing well? Is there any particular player or stat that stands out?

OS: Right-back Mitja Ilenič is off to an impressive start. The 18-year-old Slovenian youth international adds so much to the attack, and has 2 assists in 7 starts. We should enjoy him while we can, because he’ll be in Europe at a Top 5 league before he’s 21.

Attacking midfielder Richy Ledezma is also putting in some impressive performances. The 20-year-old is on loan from PSV Eindhoven, where he was languishing on the bench, but his play for NYCFC earned him a spot on the provisional USMNT Nations League roster — there’s a good reason why he’s listed alongside Brenden Aaronson, Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Djordje Mihailovic.

Those are individual players. One thing the team does well as a unit is make it hard for the other side to score: NYCFC have allowed 2 goals twice (including the season opener, before Ledezma, Santiago Rodríguez, and James Sands joined the team), and 3 goals just once. New York City might have only one clean sheet, but they almost always hold the other side to just one goal. 

To put it another way, 4 of the team’s 5 losses were by 1 goal — NYCFC are always in it until the final whistle blows.

 
PSN: As usual, will NYC be missing any key players? What are your lineup and score predictions?
OS: Defensive midfielder Alfredo Morales has been injured lately, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t make the gameday squad. Other than that the team seems fit — it helps that NYCFC had a bye last Saturday after playing five games in three weeks.
It’s hard to predict the Starting XI given that head coach Nick Cushing has used the same starting lineup exactly twice this season. Did I mention this team is a work-in-progress? He might line up with a 4-4-2, or a 4-3-3, or even a 3-4-3. He could put in Gabriel Segal at striker after the rookie scored a game-tying goal last week in the 89th minute. Or he could put in Rodríguez as a False 9. There’s a good chance that this will be completely wrong, but:
Talles Magno – Gabriel Segal – Gabriel Pereira
Santiago Rodríguez – Richy Ledezma – James Sands
Braian Cufré – Maxime Chanot – Thiago Martins – Mitja Ilenič
Luis Barraza
As for a prediction? Philadelphia will score because the attack is good and because NYCFC give up goals, but it’s hard to beat New York City at Citi Field: It has happened only once before, way back in 2019, when Toronto were given a penalty in stoppage time in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Just like with Yankee Stadium, it’s a small but totally legal field (we’re told), but the stands are closer to the action, and the energy created by the Third Rail and Los Templados can change the game.
NYCFC will win 2-1.
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Joe is a junior at Penn State studying journalism and sports studies, among other things. He's covered the Union since 2017 and has written for Brotherly Game / Philadelphia Soccer Now since 2019. He seeks to answer life's greatest questions, such as, "How did I get here?" and "Where is that large automobile?" You can find Joe on Twitter (iamjoelister) or via email (jlister2021@gmail.com).

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