New York City FC continues their four-match road trip Wednesday night at Real Salt Lake coming off one of their grittiest performances of the season, a 1-1 draw on the road against an undefeated FC Dallas side Sunday night.
“It was a great point for us on the road,” NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson told reporters. “After going down a goal, we came in, regrouped, did what we needed to do tactically to make adjustments and came out in the second half ready to play and battle.”
Johnson made four key saves on the night, two in the second half that kept NYCFC in the match. Tommy McNamara scored the equalizer for the Blues in the 68th minute, his second goal of the year.
Now, they need to take the momentum from the draw on a short week against RSL (9 p.m. ET on YES).
The Blues travel to Utah riding a three-game unbeaten streak, seeking their first win against Real Salt Lake in club history. NYCFC has lost the previous two matches against RSL — 2-0 in Utah in 2015, 3-2 last year at Yankee Stadium. But City has momentum on their side and should be the favorite against a struggling Real Salt Lake club that has lost four in a row entering Wednesday night and is just a point ahead of the last-place Colorado Rapids in the West.
RSL has been outscored, 13-1, throughout their losing stretch, with their last goal coming in the 69th minute against Atlanta United on April 22.
NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira is expected to make changes to his roster for the mid-week match, resting some players especially with a big conference match ahead at Orlando City on Sunday.
The biggest name that may or may not make the team sheet is midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who hasn’t played since NYCFC’s 2-1 loss against Orlando on April 23. NYCFC has yet to lose a match since his benching. However, with three road matches this week, Pirlo could see minutes or even start.
