NYCFC relishing do-or-die Game 3 test vs. Charlotte with MLS semifinal spot on line

Following New York City FC’s heartbreaking loss to Charlotte FC in Game 2, head coach Pascal Jansen implemented his 24-hour rule.

“They had 24 hours to deal with their emotions and then we picked up with our training sessions again,” Jansen explained. “Making sure that we have a good view review from game No. 2 and try to do better in game No. 3 because that is the game, what it’s all about, and we have to make sure that we’re ready to play that game again.”

Jansen’s rule, which he said has been in place since he took over as head coach before this season, will be put to the test with NYCFC facing a do-or-die situation in Friday’s Game 3.

NYCFC will have to go back to Charlotte and attempt to pull off just their second win ever at Bank of America Stadium, all while moving past the heartbreak of Game 2.

NYCFC let chance after chance go by the wayside in the first half of Saturday’s match at Yankee Stadium and then saw Julián Fernández and Agustín Ojeda fail to convert in the shootout, which led to the loss.

That shifts the series back to North Carolina and sets up a third game between two teams that have become intimately familiar with one another over the past two weeks. And when it comes to difference makers in Game 3, NYCFC midfielder Nicolás Fernández said the biggest will be the “small details.”

“We obviously know each other. We’ve been playing each other three times in a row now, so as players we know our ways and our ins and outs between the teams,” Fernández said. “We studied each other so we knew each other well, but we’ll see what it really comes down to on Friday.”

Games 1 and 2 played out in a somewhat similar fashion in that New York City FC was more dominant in the first half before the game evened out in the second half.

NYCFC controlled the ball 61 percent compared to Charlotte’s 39 percent and had a total of eight shots, though only one was on target. NYCFC held the advantage in corners in the first half as well, before Charlotte tilted things the other way a bit more during the second 45 minutes of the matches.

“I think it’s basically what we do in possession,” Jansen said, acknowledging the recurring pattern throughout the series. “The accuracy went down. Level of urgency going forward was not as in the beginning of the game, but the majority, I would say, our play in possession wasn’t in the right rhythm to dominate the game.”

While New York City FC has been light on wins in Charlotte, Jansen is taking solace in the fact that his club has kept Charlotte FC — which owned the best home record in MLS during the regular season — off the scoreboard in three of their four matches this season.

The City coach said that his side “beat the odds” when they won in Charlotte last Tuesday and that the way NYCFC has played against Charlotte FC this season should serve as encouragement for his side going into the winner-take-all match.

“If you look at the four games that we’ve played so far, three clean sheets. We were quite dominant as well in their stadium,” Jansen said. “So those are ingredients that give us a lot of confidence going into this game — that it’s possible. Now we have to make it happen.”

NYCFC is playing for a second straight trip to the conference semifinals, where the Philadelphia Union await.