28.04.2016 12:58 h

Vieira defiant as New York winless streak continues

New York City manager Patrick Vieira insisted his struggling Major League Soccer side team will be able to turn their season around after their winless streak stretched to seven games on Wednesday.

City had looked to be on course for their first win since the opening day of the season after defender R.J. Allen rounded off a sweeping counter-attack to fire Vieira's men into the lead against the Montreal Impact on 51 minutes.

But with a crucial victory beckoning, City succumbed to nerves, and sloppy defending of a Didier Drogba freekick allowed Dominic Oduro to steal in and head home an equalizer deep into stoppage time at Yankee Stadium.

The 1-1 draw left Vieira's star-studded side -- an affiliate of the organization which owns English Premier League side Manchester City -- languishing third from bottom of the 10-team Eastern Conference with seven points from eight games.

After a disappointing season last year, when City failed to reach the playoffs despite making a series of high-profile signings including Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard, Vieira is anxious to stop the rot.

The former France, Arsenal and Juventus star insisted however that his team's league position was not a true reflection of their play.

"We are in a period where everything is going against us," Vieira said.

"But we will stick together, we will fight together and we will turn it around. We showed that by the way we played tonight.

"I'm feeling sorry for the players because they worked so hard and worked so well. They deserve more than they are getting at the moment."

Vieira said City's long run of matches without a win was starting to foster anxiety amongst his players.

"I think you could see that tonight," he said. "When you look at our last 10-15 minutes you could see how tense the players are because they wanted it so much.

"When you're in a situation like this it can freeze you when things are not going your way. It's a difficult situation no doubt about it but we'll come through it."

Vieira blamed a lack of concentration for Montreal's injury time equalizer.

"The goal we conceded was just a lack of organization, of concentration. To concede a goal like that is really frustrating because we deserved to win that game," he said. "Our game plan was perfect for 90 minutes... the only way that we will turn this season around is to keep doing what we are doing. The players are working hard. But we're not getting the luck."

Montreal are top of the Eastern Conference standings with 13 points from eight games, one point clear of Philadelphia Union who play San Jose on Saturday.