Gotham FC play out a dull 0-0 draw with the Houston Dash | OneFootball

"It’s frustrating but not defeating." Those were the words of rookie Sarah Schupansky postgame when asked about NJ/NY Gotham FC's ability to get shots but not convert them into goals this season. The Bats were held scoreless for the second match in a row as they played out a 0-0 draw away to the Houston Dash. This now sees Gotham winless through the first three matches of the season with two draws and one defeat. They have also scored only one goal this season which came in their week one draw away to Seattle Reign FC.

This is now the third great defensive performance of the season for the team, continuing a trend that has been a staple of the now two-plus years under head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. But the offense on the other hand had their worst showing of the year. While they were held scoreless last week against the Orlando Pride, they at least generated a fair amount of chances and put enough pressure that on another day may have resulted in a goal or two.

Against Houston though, the attack was toothless. They had a really hard time generating that final attacking sequence that resulted in only two shots on goal. Sadly, this has been the story of this team for some time now dating back to last season. However, it's especially prominent this year with them really struggling to get anything even remotely dangerous in the opposition's 18-yard box.

The team and its head coach clearly believe the goals will come for this group. While it may seem difficult to believe at this point in time, they have earned the benefit of the doubt as Gotham FC was in a similar situation at the beginning of last season but turned things around later in the year.

A very stagnant affair for Gotham FC

The game started with a new tactical wrinkle from head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. Both Gabi Portilho and Nealy Martin started this match on the bench and in their place Bruninha and Taryn Torres got their first starts of the season for Gotham FC.

Bruninha, a natural full-back was playing on the right of the forward line while Torres occupied Martin's spot as the lone defensive midfielder. With Bruninha out on the right, Schupansky played as the attacking midfielder who made underlapping attacking runs on the inside of the Brazilian. Without the ball though, Gotham moved into a 4-3-3 shape with Schupansky adopting the right-wing spot while Bruninha played on the right side of a flat midfield three.

On the field, the first half offered very little to talk about. Both teams created very few chances, with virtually none offering any danger. The largely dull half then took a difficult turn in the 39th minute when Gotham FC captain Tierna Davidson landed awkwardly on her left leg and went down with a non-contact injury. While she did walk off the field largely unaided, she had to come out of the game with Mandy Freeman taking her place at center-back.

The second half had a little more action but was far from an interesting watch. Gotham was the first to make substitutions with Portilho and Martin coming on for Schupansky and Torres. This again saw another tactical change from the norm with Portilho playing her first minutes of the season out on the left, with Stevens shifting to striker and Esther González dropping deeper into the midfield.

The first shot on goal of the game came in the 68th minute when Stevens got on the end of a cross but saw her shot saved by Dash goalkeeper, Jane Campbell. Then in the 72nd minute, Gotham had a free kick in a good position but could not make the most of it with a few miskicks in the box before a soft shot was smothered by Campbell.

Six minutes later Houston had their best chance of the match when a Dash pass found Avery Patterson wide open on the right side who then ripped a shot around the edge of the box off target and into the side-netting. In the 88th minute, Evelina Duljan had Houston's only shot on target. Almost a "shross" if you will, it was a little bit of an awkward shot but Ann-Katrin Berger smothered it relatively easily.

The last good chance of the match came in the 90th minute when Lilly Reale sent in a dangerous cross from the left side that just missed the heads of multiple Gotham forwards. The final whistle after five minutes of stoppage time put an end to one of the ugliest matches played by Gotham in the Amorós era.

Positives from the match include the play of Reale who in addition to leading both teams in touches and tackles won, and picked up where she left off last week against Orlando. The rookie played a very good game on both sides of the ball. Bruninha, who played much further forward than fans are used to and did not look out of place, also played well.

The team will have two weeks between games with the upcoming international break. And while several high-profile players will be missing, just having an additional week might be a good reset for Gotham FC. Hopefully, the side will see their fortunes change when they return home against the North Carolina Courage.