3 things we learned from NYCFC's needed draw against the New England Revolution

On Sunday afternoon, New York City FC headed up north to face the New England Revolution. The Pigeons had a tough task ahead of them since they were playing a talented team that is having a much better season compared to last year. It was thought that earning any points would be unlikely, but the Boys in Blue secured a 1-1 draw.

The most important thing that happened during the match was that NYCFC held on to earn the draw. Too many times this season, they have given up the lead or lost out on a draw. Most recently, that happened against the Philadelphia Union and FC Cincinnati. But the fact that they did not give up the second goal, despite failing to score a second of their own, is a step forward for the team.

NYCFC did go down first after giving up a goal to Dor Turgeman. But James Sands tied the game before halftime by scoring from a corner kick. There were superb shooting attempts in the second half in an attempt to score another, but most of the time was spent defending.

A draw on the road, even though three points were desperately needed, is not a terrible result, especially against a top side. Nevertheless, here are three things we learned from the draw between NYCFC and the Revolution.

A game of battles for NYCFC

The match was a match of battles. The Sands brothers faced off, for NYCFC’s Sands’ brother, Will Sands, plays for New England. He is a left-back, so it was a battle of defenders.

Notably, the sky blue Sands had a roller-coaster game. He gave up the penalty kick that was saved by Matt Freese. However, he redeemed himself with a goal-line clearance and then his goal. The dark blue Sands defended well against the Pigeons, as he had the most defensive contributions on his team.

There was also the battle between the USMNT goalkeepers, Freese and Matt Turner. Both players made incredible saves, like Freese’s double save from Carles Gil’s penalty kick and Turner’s save from Keaton Parks’ golazo attempt. Truthfully, both keepers are major reasons why NYCFC and New England failed to win.

Matt Freese deserves his flowers

If Freese did not make that double save, then there is no doubt the Bronx side would have walked away with zero points. After Sands gave up the penalty kick, which was rightfully given after his tackle, the NYCFC goalkeeper had to stop Gil from scoring. The good news is that he guessed the right way and dived swiftly to his left to get the first stop.

Then, the Spaniard tried to score on the rebound. Freese got up and dove the other way to stop the ball at close range, preventing Gil from scoring. These saves might be the keeper’s best saves of the year.

Freese deserves his flowers, and overall, he was incredible throughout the game. Hopefully, the bumps in the road from his last game in the World Cup are finally starting to stay in the past.

NYCFC is not out of the woods

The draw might somewhat feel like a win, as NYCFC held on to earn the draw. But they are not out of the woods yet. The team desperately needs wins and must find a way to score more goals again. In five of their last seven games in all competitions, they have only scored one goal.

That is problematic, but NYCFC has previously gone through streaks like this. Sure, Turner made it difficult to find the second goal against New England due to his saves, but the Pigeons need to figure this out. If they can increase their goal output, then perhaps a silly mistake will not matter in the long run.

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