So much for that Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard pre-retirement party.
In what was touted as possibly the last meeting between two of England’s most decorated soccer players, it was a much younger England-born player who stole the attention from the ancient English veterans.
Powered by rookie midfielder Jack Harrison, NYCFC extended their unbeaten streak to four games, with a 1-0 win against the Western Conference juggernaut L.A. Galaxy in front of 35,509 Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Harrison never could have envisioned being on the same field as two of his country’s legends.
“I would have never imagined playing with [Lampard and Gerrard] someday,” he said. “I’m really grateful to be here and thankful for this opportunity.”
It was the former Manchester United youth academy player who sprinted across the field all game that set up the game’s only goal.
Unsurprisingly, he made fellow countrymen Lampard and Gerrard look years beyond their glory days at Chelsea and Liverpool, respectively.
In the fifth minute, Harrison played a perfect through ball out wide to defender Ronald Matarrita, who made his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury in June.
Matarrita made a darting run towards the box that ended with his shot deflected by Galaxy goalkeeper Clément Diop. But Diop’s deflection landed behind him, where NYCFC captain David Villa appeared offsides, but he emphatically added his MLS-leading 16th goal of the season to give his team a 1-0 lead.
“He was offsides on the goal,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. “[The linesman] missed the play and that’s life.”
In the 34th minute, Villa came close to bagging another goal following a botched clearance by Galaxy defender Jelle Van Damme. The MLS All-Star fired a shot directly at the Galaxy keeper, which fell right back to Villa, but his shot was off the mark.
NYCFC continued their dominance in the second half, with Harrison and Villa being at the center of almost all scoring opportunities. By the end of the match, NYCFC outshot the Galaxy, 18-11, and spent 67 percent of the match in the Galaxy’s third.
In the 64th minute, Harrison nearly added his fourth goal of the season, but his blistering shot went just over the bar.
Though much of the pre-match buzz was centered around Lampard and Gerrard, the pair with more than 200 England National Team appearances, both remained quiet throughout NYCFC’s big win
While Lampard had touches on the ball, Gerrard seemingly looked like any other player out on the converted soccer field.
“It was a very important win and an important game,” said NYCFC assistant coach Christian Lattaznio, who filled in for suspended head coach Patrick Vieira for the second time this season. “We are really, really happy with this win because it against one of the strongest teams.”
Vieira and defender Maxime Chanot were serving one-match suspensions after receiving red cards following last week’s 3-3 draw with Columbus.
Despite a star-studded roster with the likes of Giovani dos Santos and former English pro Ashley Cole, the Galaxy seemed flat all game.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of quality to our passing today,” Arena said. “A couple chances that we get, we have to put one in the back of the net.
Though they came to life later in the match, the Galaxy’s missed clear goal-scoring opportunities, especially in the 19th minute.
Following a poor clearance by Jefferson Mena, the ball somehow fell to midfielder Nigel de Jong who’s shot went anywhere but the net.
In the 81st minute, the Galaxy (9-3-11, 38 points) caused a collected “oooh” from Yankee Stadium after Van Damme’s shot across the goalmouth missed inches wide.
NYCFC (11-7-8, 41 points) continues to sit atop the Eastern Conference with a four-point cushion over Toronto FC.
Much different from a year ago when the Galaxy romped the MLS newcomers 5-1 in Los Angeles.
“The team is really starting to come together,” Harrison said with a smile. “The team chemistry is building and everyone’s buying into Patrick [Vieira’s] ideals. It’s been great as a team to just play together and get those wins.”