Gotham FC survive early red card for much-needed draw

HARRISON, N.J. — For Gotham FC, playing two-thirds of the game a player down, gutting out a scoreless tie should feel like a relief. Instead, they feel robbed. 

In precarious playoff positioning, Gotham FC overcame the earliest red card in the NWSL all season to draw third-place Washington at Sports Illustrated Stadium. 

With eight teams making the postseason, Gotham (5-5-5, 20 points) clawed their way into seventh on goal differential, pending Racing Louisville FC’s tilt with Orlando later Saturday night. But they’re getting what they feel is a raw deal from the refs that has them salty. 

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“The players went to their limits. I can only praise them, and I feel sorry sometimes because having to definitely fight against more than 11 players on a regular basis,” said coach Juan Carlos Amorós after Gotham picked up their fourth red card. “For me, it’s just not good enough, we can be the team that receives the most fouls in the league, but we are multiplying by four to five the times that we get players sent off. It is just not acceptable on our side as a team.” 

Gotham has been fouled a league-high 191 times, but has seen four players sent off when nobody else has had more than one. 

The latest came when Geyse tackled Washington’s Gabrielle Carle. Nothing was called, but the play went to VAR and the Manchester United loanee was handed a red in the 30th minute. 

Geyse did not speak publicly after the game, per league rules preventing players who receive a red card from speaking to the media. 

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Gotham managed to hold on, even after Washington star Trinity Rodman, nursing a back injury, came off the bench in the 75th minute 

Keeper Ann-Katrin Berger got undercut by her own defender, Lilly Reale, to leave the net open, but Heather Stainbrook’s right-footed shot from the center of the box got blocked and cleared off the line to keep it scoreless. 

Gotham even had two last cracks. Reale found Gabi Portilho for a left-footed shot from outside the box in the 97th minute that forced a save by Aubrey Kingsbury. Then Reale forced a diving save herself eight minutes into stoppage time before the game went final. 

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“The level is different for Gotham. That’s the reality of it,” Amorós said. “It’s something we need to live with. We fill in everything they ask us to report to the refs, we’ve had meetings with them, but it doesn’t change.

“It’s always a different level.”