Ronny Deila: “I’ve never been through this before that we have lost four times to 1-0. It’s very, very rare.”

By Michael Lewis
FrontRowSoccer.com Editor

The numbers, or the lack of them, are mind boggling.

In six MLS matches this season, New York City FC has tallied twice, conceding seven times.

If you put those games under the microcope, City has dropped five 1-0 decisions in all competitions this year, four in Major League Soccer.

No. 5 came Thursday night, a 1-0 result at the hands and feet of the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena in the Hudson River Derby.

The defeat left NYCFC (1-5-0, 3 points)  in 13th place out of 14 teams in the Eastern Conference scoring only two goals and surrendering seven. It is the worst start in the club’s six-year history.

Ronny Deila, who has played and coached for several decades, admitted he had never encountered a drought like this.

“I’ve never been through this before that we have lost four times to 1-0,” he said. “It’s very, very rare. We didn’t create anything. And what’s worse, but today we didn’t create enough. We should create more than than we did. the performance is is not good enough.”

Here is the tally:

* March 1- 1-0 loss at the Columbus Crew

* March 7 – 1-0 setback at Toronto FC

* March 11 – 1-0 defeat to Tigres (Concacaf Champions League)

* July 9 – 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union

* Aug. 20 — 1-0 defeat at the Red Bulls

Last year NYCFC was creating more chances, perhaps six or seven a game. This year, it is around two or three.

“I think games are not a matter of skill really it’s which team is willing go the extra mile and today that wasn’t us,” center back James Sands said. “I don’t think we’re any less talented than Red Bulls. I think we have better players who just maybe didn’t fight as hard in the last half an hour of the game and when it cost us.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.