Boys in Blue take down Columbus, Chicago amid renewed roster chaos

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

New York City put two goals past the Columbus Crew and netted three against the Chicago Fire, earning a perfect six points in their return to MLS play. They’ve pushed up into 5th place in the Eastern Conference with 17 matches to go, a solid standing at the season’s midpoint.

The first match back from the World Cup break was in Columbus, where NYC looked to avenge their US Open Cup defeat and complete a league double over the Crew.

The Ohio crowd was silenced in the opening half hour. After Agustin Ojeda was brought down in the Columbus penalty area, Nico Fernandez Mercau scored the first City goal since the World Cup, his 11th of the season.

The game stayed 1-0 for some time, with chances on both ends of the pitch. Finally it was Talles Magno prying the ball away from Rudy Camacho near the corner flag in the 70th minute. The Brazilian drove towards the penalty area, passing across goal to Ojeda – an easy finish to make it 2-0 to NYC.

Fernandez Mercau and Ojeda each scored again a few days later, leading NYC to a strong 3-1 win over Chicago. The final goal was scored by Malachi Jones as Robert Lewandowski was kept quiet for the Fire.

22 of New York City’s 30 goals this season have come from Fernandez Mercau, Ojeda, and Hannes Wolf, with the latter two scoring 5 apiece. Magno and Keaton Parks are the only other players on the roster to score multiple times this season.

It was a little shocking to see both Lewandowski and Antoine Griezmann land in the United States without much of a push for NYC to sign them – Griezmann even had a photo shoot for Orlando in Times Square! Instead the Boys in Blue added Ivory Coast and FC Basel striker Bénie Traoré to the fray.

It’s been tough for the New York attackers to keep up with the team’s scoring needs, and that may get tougher with rumblings that both Fernandez Mercau and Hannes Wolf may be looking to depart in the near future.

For now, the focus must stay on the league. There is plenty of work to be done and New York City is well on the right path to contend this year.