Two away matches and four points collected for New York City FC, so this episode starts with our assessment of the performances in the win over Charlotte FC and the draw with the Red Bulls. There's talk of defensive improvement, an eye-catching substitute appearance from Malachi Jones in the Hudson River Derby, and some missed opportunities to take all three points home from Harrison, New Jersey.

There is also some major Maxi Moralez injury news to discuss, as his serious knee injury suffered against the Red Bulls hangs a cloud over all things. There's talk of what the injury could mean for NYCFC's season, and the difficult question of how the club replaces its irreplaceable No 10 is once again raised.

The episode closes with a preview of the US Open Cup quarterfinal in Columbus, where a new Crew coach awaits. Columbus is struggling down in 13th place in the Eastern Conference and NYCFC beat them convincingly only 10 days ago, but the trip to Ohio to face a squad playing their first match post-coach firing could be trickier than it seems.

We then cover NYCFC's final MLS match prior to the World Cup break, the daunting road trip to face Nashville SC, the current leaders in the race for the Supporters' Shield. Sam Surridge isn't available, but Hany Mukhtar is, and coming off the hugely important Open Cup quarterfinal, your hosts are not expecting much in the final MLS match played before late-July.

Listen to the full episode, then find more of our coverage at nysoccerjournal.com, or on Twitter @nysoccerjournal and @NYSJPodcast, on Bluesky @nysoccerjournal.com, and on Instagram @newyorksoccerjournal

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