The former Chelsea and England midfielder scored his 12th goal in 14 games in NYCFC’s 3-1 loss at the New England Revolution.
Frank Lampard was on the scoresheet yet again for New York City FC on Saturday night, but it was not enough to prevent his side from falling to a disappointing 3-1 defeat at the New England Revolution.
NYCFC went into the match having lost just one of their previous six MLS matches but found themselves 1-0 down after 21 minutes when Revolution striker Juan Agudelo opened the scoring with a curling strike from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box.
Lee Nguyen then doubled the hosts’ advantage just before half-time following some neat build-up play between Kelyn Rowe and Andrew Farrell, before Lampard pulled one back four minutes after the restart when he hammered home an R.J. Allen cross from close range to give him 12 goals in his last 14 games.
Speaking of in-form…Lampard pulls one back for @NYCFC. #NEvNYC https://t.co/8T7KJXs5Nx
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 11, 2016
At that point, NYCFC looked ready to mount a comeback, but any hope of them securing a positive result on the night ultimately ended shortly before the hour mark when Revs playmaker Diego Fagundez pounced on a loose ball at the top of the area and fired into the back of the net to effectively settle the contest.
The defeat means Patrick Vieira’s men drop down to second place in the Eastern Conference after Toronto FC recorded a 2-1 win at the Chicago Fire on the same night, and they could even slip to third this weekend if the New York Red Bulls earn at least a point from their clash with D.C. United on Sunday.
With 10 points separating them from seventh-placed New England with five regular season matches left, it would still take a monumental collapse for them to miss out on a maiden playoff appearance, but Vieira made it clear in no uncertain terms after Saturday’s defeat that complacency will not be tolerated.
“They played much better than us tonight and they fully deserved to win the game,” the Frenchman said at his post-game press conference. “We didn’t play at all. I think we had a lack of desire to compete against them, a lack of [aggressiveness], and when you don’t have that it’s difficult to play any type of football match.
“We have to work even harder, keep pushing, and I have to keep challenging my players.”
NYCFC now face a tough game next Saturday when they host Supporters’ Shield leaders FC Dallas at Yankee Stadium, although a victory would move them within four points of the Western Conference outfit on the overall standings and put them back in contention for their first-ever piece of major silverware.
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