NEW YORK – Goalkeeper Josh Saunders said he wasn’t going to sleep well after New York City FC surrendered a late goal and settled for a 1-1 draw with the Philadelphia Union Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.
But the bad taste on Thursday night turned to optimism Friday morning, especially when it came to the performances from Javier Calle and Kwadwo Poku.
Calle, who was signed on a season-long loan from Independiente Medellin in Colombia, made his second start for NYCFC on Thursday but first as a left back in Jason Kreis’ 4-3-3 formation.
The 23-year-old, who is primarily a midfielder, acquitted himself well in a new position.
Calle, who also started against Sporting Kansas City on March 28 and came off the bench in three other matches, played the first 78 minutes before being cramping up and being replaced by Jeb Brovsky.
“I thought he was excellent,” Saunders said. “He gave us a very dynamic option going forward, completed a lot of good passes, made some very efficient passes, 5-, 10-yard passes that broke pressure. I thought he did very well.”
Poku made his second appearance, replacing David Villa at halftime after the Spanish international suffered a hamstring injury, and also impressed in the second half.
“I thought Poku came in and did a very good job, made some very good passes and kept pressure and relieved pressure for us going forward,” Saunders said. “ He was able to take space and push them back.”
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The pacey Ghanaian midfielder electrified the crowd and nearly scored his first Major League Soccer goal in the 59th minute. But after making a run inside the 18-yard box, Union goalkeeper John McCarthy parried Poku’s shot away.
“I’m getting comfortable with it,” said Poku, who played for the Atlanta Silverbacks a year ago. “On the training grounds, I’ve been training with these guys and they are some of the best players in MLS. They keep telling me what to watch out for and how it is. It’s not something different. It’s something I’m expecting. It’s really great.”
