When he heard the final whistle blow Saturday afternoon, David Villa felt a sense of joy, relief and complete exhaustion. He dropped to his knees, reached up to the sky and eventually fell onto his back on the Yankee Stadium grass, a man with nothing left after willing his team to a desperately needed victory.
The scene was a bit reminiscent of the character Andy Dufresne's reaction to escaping from prison in "The Shawshank Redemption." No, there was no rain falling, and it wasn't in the middle of the night, but you could forgive Villa if ending his team's seven-match winless slide felt every bit like he just successfully climbed through a 500-yard sewer pipe to freedom.
Unlike Dufresne however, Villa hasn't escaped his personal prison just yet, because while Saturday's 3-2 win against Vancouver helped New York City FC enjoy some relief and gain some confidence, the fact remains there are still very real questions about the second-year team.
To be clear, Saturday's victory gives Villa's team something to build on, but the match itself offered plenty of clues that there is still plenty to worry about. The defense remains a weak link, with goalkeeper Josh Saunders once again showing signs of shakiness as well. The attack remains inconsistent, relying heavily on Villa despite what is supposed to be a strong midfield. Villa and Patrick Vieira have been insisting for some time now that NYCFC is actually playing good soccer, only to be foiled by correctable mistakes.
Is that belief based on reality or blind optimism? Statistics suggest the confidence is based at least to some degree on reality. NYCFC leads the league in possession, and is among the league's best at passing accuracy and chances created. Unfortunately, those stats haven't led to being among the league leaders in wins or goals.
The fact is NYCFC just played a stretch of six home matches out of eight and managed just one win in the Bronx. Several of those matches involved facing teams that have arrived at Yankee Stadium intent on sitting back and countering, thus allowing NYCFC to win the possession battle fairly easily and skewing some of those statistics.
Despite that, NYCFC holds a meager 1-1-4 record at Yankee Stadium, having already played more than a third of its home matches and more home games than any other team in MLS. Vieira's team sits in sixth place in the East at the moment, but staying in playoff position won't be easy.
The month of May should let us know what NYCFC's reality is. A three-game road trip, including visits to Portland and Toronto, awaits, followed by the first New York derby of the season, back at Yankee Stadium against the New York Red Bulls on May 21. If NYCFC can register some wins during that stretch and remain in playoff position, then Vieira's persistent optimism will start looking more understandable, and Villa will enjoy more days like Saturday.
But if NYCFC hits another winless slide, then the club will have to accept the likelihood that the 2016 season won't have a happy ending like "The Shawshank Redemption," but rather the same disappointing outcome we already saw in the club's first season.
DROGBA STILL DANGEROUS DESPITE NOT BEING 100 PERCENT
A game-tying assist one match, then a stunning free kick just three days later. If this is Didier Drogba at less than 100 percent, then it's scary to think what he will do once he really hits his stride.
The Montreal Impact forward has settled into the Impact lineup after missing five of Montreal's first six matches to avoid playing on artificial turf, and has scored or set up goals in three of four matches since his return.
After Wednesday's tie with New York City FC, Drogba suggested he was still some time away from being at his best.
“It’s the second time I play 90 minutes after five months, so it’s very difficult,” Drogba told reporters Wednesday. “I think within a month I will be OK.”
Montreal settled for a 2-2 draw against Colorado on Saturday, making it now three straight matches without a victory. Drogba will look to move closer to 100 percent Saturday when the Impact face the struggling Columbus Crew.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CLUBS RULING
If you had bet money on the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake being the top two teams in the MLS Supporters' Shield standings after one quarter of the season, you would be staring at a big payday right now.
The Rapids rallied from a pair of deficits to earn a 2-2 tie against the Montreal Impact on Saturday, while Real Salt Lake came back from a first-half deficit to post a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. Both results offered very good insight into why these clubs are exceeding expectations.
The Rapids shook off a pair of stunning goals by Montreal to earn a draw that pushed their unbeaten streak to four matches. Pablo Mastroeni's side used its tough defense to make things difficult for the Impact. In fact, the Rapids wound up with more shots on goal (5 to 3) than the Impact despite being the visiting team at Stade Saputo. Jermaine Jones once again manned a playmaking role underneath Kevin Doyle, while also helping keep pressure on the Impact attack.
RSL had a tougher-than-expected time with the struggling Dynamo but shook off an early deficit to move into a tie with the Rapids and FC Dallas for the most points in the league (with 17). Javier Morales and Nick Rimando were at their best in helping secure the victory, while youngster Jordan Allen may have been RSL's best player. The victory was a solid recovery from last week's 5-2 loss to the LA Galaxy, and showed that RSL can score goals even without Joao Plata in the lineup.
Now RSL's potent attack will look to break down Colorado's stingy defense as the Rocky Mountain rivals play their first derby of the year, at Dick's Sporting Good's Park on Saturday. The winner will be standing atop the league. Who would have predicted that before the season began?
BEST OF MLS WEEK 9
Player of the Week: David Villa. The NYCFC striker delivered two goals to help his team beat Vancouver and snap a seven-match winless slide.
Team of the Week: New York Red Bulls. Their 4-0 thrashing of FC Dallas was their best performance of the year.
Rookie of the Week: Jonathan Campbell. Though Jordan Morris had a good case for grabbing this honor a third straight week, the nod goes to Campbell for scoring his first professional goal and turning in another strong defensive performance in the Chicago Fire's 1-1 draw with D.C. United.
Goal of the Week: Diego Valeri
Take a bow, @DiegoDv8! #PORvTOR https://t.co/JElOzdrPMK
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 1, 2016
- Goal