The Leagues Cup reached its final group stage match at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Thursday night. New York City FC and Club Necaxa might have known their fate coming into the match, but the hosts had the upper hand. One side secured qualification with a win despite depending on other results. The other was looking to leave the tournament on a high note. Nevertheless, the pressure was on the home side to obtain the result.

Falling short once again

New York suffered a rough defeat against Cruz Azul in the second fixture of the group. Max Murray scored the team’s first set piece goal of the tournament. A good sign given the lack of effectiveness in that department in recent seasons. But unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news as the team lost Thiago Martins due to injury in that same fixture. Another heavy loss not only for the tournament, but for the immediate future in the season as well. Nevertheless, the team’s overall performance was not the best. Cruz Azul dominated the game despite falling a goal behind. Talles Magno and Malachi Jones as improvised strikers didn’t have the desired impact, so Benie Traore was brought back. Unfortunately, the damage was done.

The game against Club Necaxa provided an opportunity to turn the page from that defeat. Nevertheless, it was yet another game where improvisation was needed. Not because any of the members in the starting XI were playing out of position, but because of the lack of chemistry between them. Nico Fernandez, Traore, and Luighi might be the next front three, but they need time to build up their playing styles. Club Necaxa didn’t exactly dominate the game but managed to create enough chances that could have been costly within the opening minutes of the match. Traore didn’t look comfortable, and the lack of chemistry within the starting 11 was deeply noticeable.

Keaton Parks pulled the team ahead from a corner kick header. Enough to go into halftime with the lead. Nevertheless, the team was once again unable to hold on to the lead. Against all odds, Necaxa, already eliminated, managed to make the comeback and win the game. While the possibility of advancing depended on a combination of results, New York City failed to do the most important part of the job. This marked the second consecutive elimination for the team in the group stages of the tournament. A record that, given the roster the team has, should not be holding. If anything, the team should be advancing to the knockout stages in every edition.

Warning signs ahead

New York City had the chance to start fresh in the regular season facing the Philadelphia Union. They were undefeated at home and could use that as an incentive to gain momentum in the domestic competition. However, the injury list cast a big shadow ahead of the game. A total of 9 players were unavailable; 6 of them were part of the starting lineup. The plus side? More playing time for the newcomers to continue building chemistry.

Traore and Luighi each scored to open their goal tally with New York City FC, but it turned out to be a bittersweet homecoming for the new signings. In an unexpected but predictable series of events, the team gave up the lead once again. It’s as if something happens after halftime, but the team loses focus during the second half and the opponent takes advantage of that situation to overturn the result. It took Philadelphia 45 minutes to make the comeback and give New York City their third overall defeat in a row.

Injuries and relying heavily on key players could be taking a toll on the team. If that’s the case, it seems to be a never-ending cycle that dates back to the Castellanos days. He was the driving force; once he left, it was Maxi. Now it’s Nico Fernández, and if he is not on the field, the team completely changes. It could be unintentional or just an individual observation, but the team doesn’t seem to find a way out of the negative streak. Nevertheless, they have a chance to turn things around in the upcoming fixtures away from home. They could just be needing more games to get back on the rhythm of things, but this is only one of the many scenarios that could be used to find a solution to the ongoing situation.

New York City FC returns to Queens for the next home game in September. Hopefully the storyline takes a more positive tone for the ‘Boys in Blue’ by then.