New York City claims hard-fought point off Nashville

New York City FC proved it can still dance with the big dogs even while stuck in a winless skid, grinding out a hard-fought 0-0 draw under the lights vs Nashville SC on Friday night in the Bronx.

The first half saw the Pigeons look well-drilled and confident, testing the Nashville defense while Nicolás Fernández Mercau ran riot in the center of the pitch. The visitors had few answers to contain the Pigeons' wide playmakers, with the final pass or final touch proving far more costly for the Boys in Blue.

Despite a nervy moment between Matt Freese and Raul Gustavo at the back that saw Nashville's Hany Mukhtar rattle the crossbar with a shot on an open goal just before halftime, New York City went into the break confident, with Nashville chasing shadows and frustrated in front of goal.

On the other side of the break, the script flipped, forcing New York City to hold on for dear life to snatch a point off the Eastern Conference front-runners. After halftime, Nashville controlled possession (62%) and outshot New York City 7-0, but there were to be no goals for either side, making it a third straight draw for the Pigeons.

New York City sets the early tempo

With the Pigeons riding a six-game winless run in all competitions heading into Friday night, fans would be forgiven for thinking that a date with MLS-leading Nashville would have seen New York City pinned back from the jump. On the contrary, NYCFC brought the match directly to the league's top side.

Nico Fernández Mercau was at the center of proceedings for the Pigeons from kickoff, testing the Nashville backline with two dangerous attempts while pulling the strings creatively from central midfield. Agustín Ojeda and Bénie Traoré each fired off attempts to test Brian Schwake in goal, though Ojeda's venomous strike straight at Schwake in the 15th minute was the only one to hit the target for the hosts over the 90 minutes.

Brazilian loanee Luighi, who made his fourth league start since joining from Palmeiras this summer, had the one chance that truly got Celestes off their feet in the 31st minute. Traoré, with acres of space to run, drove into the Nashville penalty area before lofting the ball toward the Brazilian making a run towards the back post. Unfortunately for the 20-year-old, he got his angles all wrong, slicing the ball off his shin and out for a goal kick, much to the delight of the 10 traveling Nashville fans behind the goal.

As the first half wound down, Nashville grew into the match and started seriously threatening Matt Freese's goal, culminating in a wild final few minutes before the break, during which Mukhtar hit the crossbar from just eight yards out. A shambolic miscommunication between Freese and defender Raul Gustavo inside the New York City penalty area gifted possession back to Nashville.

Scooping up the loose ball, Cristian Espinoza lofted a cross to an unmarked Hany Mukhtar standing dead-center of the box and waiting to pounce. Much to the shock of everyone in attendance, the former MLS MVP rattled the crossbar while staring at an open net. It was a head-in-hands moment for the German, and nearly another nightmare come to life for Freese in goal.

When all was said and done, referee Rosendo Mendoza blew his whistle on the stroke of 45 minutes, ending what was, statistically, a dead rubber first half with just three shot on target between both sides.

Barely hanging on

If the first half was dead rubber, the second half was simply dead from a New York City point of view.

38% possession and zero shots from the Pigeons in the second half is more in line with what many feared going into this contest. It makes it all the more painful seeing how well New York City competed with the league's best before the halftime break.

Nashville opened the second half with two early yellow cards as referee Mendoza went to his pocket quickly to book Patrick Yazbek and Hany Mukhtar. Between those bookings, the visitors nearly took the lead through English striker Sam Surridge, who tested Freese from close range and forced another save out of the American.

Yet, for the lack of bluster shown by the Pigeons in attack, Pascal Jansen's back four kept their resolve and held on for the clean sheet against one of the most potent offenses in the league. The Pigeons managed to block four attempts from Nashville while outduelling the Eastern Conference leaders 24 to 21.

The only real second-half highlight from the New York City side was the return of Aiden O'Neill, who entered as a substitute in the 70th minute for his first action since starring for Australia at the World Cup, as he required ankle surgery that kept him out of all 10 of the Pigeons' post-World Cup matches leading up to Nashville.

O'Neill's return was a welcome sight, but what will stick with Jansen and the Pigeons after this 0-0 was the failure to keep the pedal pressed firmly into the floor coming out of the halftime break.

Nashville looked vulnerable and struggled to contain both Fernández Mercau and Bénie Traoré in the first half, yet neither attacker managed a single impactful moment across the final 45 minutes.

Nashville came out of the locker room and stifled New York City, as many sides have over the past few weeks. That was to be expected. What wasn't expected was for the Pigeons to hold the Eastern Conference leaders scoreless for 90 minutes, despite conceding 13 shots.

It's not a win, but it's another point on the board and a third straight match without losing, another minuscule step in the right direction for New York City FC. The winless skid now extends to seven matches in all competitions, but Friday night proved that the Pigeons can still hang with the league's best, at least for now.