MONTREAL ā Back in New York City FCās starting XI for the first time since Aug. 18, Jo Inge Berget brought a bit of Viking mentality to the lineup.
The Norwegian international wasnāt credited with his teamās lone tally in Saturday nightās 1-1 draw with the Montreal Impact. But his fingerprints were all over Rudy Camachoās own goal, the result of Bergetās hard near-post run to meet a well-placed low cross from Ben Sweat.
Having finally returned from an adductor injury that sidelined him for the past month, Berget feels that there is a place for him and his style of play alongside David Villa and Maxi Moralez.
āI play in the middle and Iāve got David and Maxi next to me; my job is to be strong and to make runs in behind and to give a little bit of room to Maxi and David,ā Berget said. āThere are still spaces, especially for those kinds of players, to take advantage there and then itās my job to do the dirty work and run around and Iām happy to do that.ā
Berget and head coach Dome Torrent agreed at halftime that he would only be playing around 60 minutes on the night. Itās important for both men to manage the Norwegianās fitness: NYCFC have a tight stretch of games ahead, with the Chicago Fire visiting Yankee Stadium Wednesday (7 pm ET | TV and streaming info) and a flight to the Twin Cities to face Minnesota United on Saturday (8 pm ET | TV & streaming info).
āItās been a while since we last won a game and we really want to win,ā said Berget. āThatās the good thing about the tight-schedule matches ā weāve got a new game on Wednesday.ā
Torrent knows heās come under criticism after his teamās poor run of form: the Cityzens havenāt won since Aug. 12, their only victory in their last nine matches. However, the Spaniard still believes his team can aspire to great things come playoff time.
āA lot of people have doubts about me, about the team, but I said many times: We are on the best way,ā Torrent said on Saturday. āOn the way to try to win something and I believe in that.ā
Torrent is adamant that NYCFC must now shake off the teamās winless drought in order to correct their trajectory as the postseason approaches.
āThe most important, when you play nine games and youāre only able to win one, [is that] you have to win. We have to win,ā he said. āMy players know how important it is to win in soccer. The first step is to try to play well, the second step is to try to win.ā
Another point of urgency for Torrent is the way his team played away from home, citing a lack of control in the last few games at Toronto, Philadelphia and Columbus.
āIf you want to play in the playoffs you canāt play away in that way. Not in the last two, three performances,ā he said. āItās not possible to try and win MLS if you play away like the [last] four games.ā
Despite his outing in Montreal, it is still uncertain whether Berget will see action against the Fire on Wednesday. Torrent said he would have a conversation with team doctors and his players before making a decision. In the event that Berget canāt be part of Wednesdayās lineup, Torrent said he would start Ismael Tajouri-Shradi alongside Villa and Moralez.