3 things we learned after Gotham FC again lost to the Denver Summit
On Sunday afternoon, NJ/NY Gotham FC played Denver Summit FC for the second time this season and in history. The first-year team was having a good inaugural year under the former head coach of New York City FC, Nick Cushing, and had already won against the Bats. Sadly, this match ended in a loss, too, as the league leaders fell 3-0.
Therefore, the unbeaten run has come to an end at ten games. It was a great run for Gotham FC, especially since fans do not know when a streak like this will happen again. Seven wins and three draws make the streak an incredible achievement.
Alas, the inability to score hurt the NJ/NY side. The team has not been scoring much and has only scored 14 goals during the unbeaten run. Finally, a team fully took advantage, which in this case happened to be Denver. While their defense has been the star, and while the defense won them another NWSL Championship last year, it was only a matter of time before the lack of goals would come back to haunt them.
Now, the NWSL Shield is at risk. The Washington Spirit won their game, so only two points separate them from falling out of first place. There is a lot that can be taken away from the Denver match about why the Bats are in this predicament. Therefore, here are three things we learned from Gotham FC’s loss.
From an unbeaten run to a winless run
As mentioned, the unbeaten run has officially come to an end. Denver outplayed the Bats and deserved the win. Gotham FC did not play their best by any means.
While the unbeaten run has come to an end, the winless run now stands at three games. Remember, the NJ/NY side entered Sunday with two draws in their last two fixtures. Now, the loss against the Summit can be added to the list. For a team competing for the NWSL Shield, they do not want to continue the winless run.
That is why it is concerning that Gotham has not won in three games. The worst thing that could happen is for the Bats to suddenly drop off and climb down the table. Therefore, the next match must end in a win.
Gotham FC maybe did not play Denver properly
Meanwhile, looking at the loss, there is the possibility that the NJ/NY side did not prepare properly to play the Summit. For starters, it has only been a year and a half since Delanie Sheehan and Yazmeen Ryan left Gotham. Hence, they understand Juan Carlos Amorós’ tactics and likely helped Cushing to create the game plan for both matches this year.
What the head coach should have done was change up tactics. He should have brought the unthinkable to Colorado that not even Cushing could predict. Instead, Amorós returns to the team after paternity leave with a loss.
Gotham FC needs to score
As mentioned, Gotham FC only scored 14 goals during the unbeaten streak. Some might think that is pretty good since that is more than one goal per game on average. However, only four matches saw the NJ/NY side score more than one goal, and three of the four came during the first four matches of the streak.
In addition, Gotham has only scored six goals in their last seven fixtures. Their scoring struggles led to the team scoring just once in the last three games.
There is no question that the team needs to find their scoring boots. Sam Kerr needs to be better in front of the goal as well. Perhaps the players need to focus on shooting practice.
