New York City FC finally picked up their first win under interim head coach Nick Cushing as they beat the New England Revolution 4-2 at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
In an exciting, frantic encounter, the Cityzens took the lead in the 10th minute with Talles Magno converting a penalty he’d won after being wiped out in the box by center-back Andrew Farrell.
Gustavo Bou quickly equalized for the Revs after some great work from Sebastian Lletget, but NYCFC were given another penalty just after the half-hour mark when Henry Kessler collided with Taty Castellanos and Maxi Moralez. It was, perhaps, a harsh call and justice was served when Djordje Petrovic saved Castellanos’ effort.
But the MLS Golden Boot winner was given the chance to make up for his miss 10 minutes later, converting NYCFC’s third penalty of the first half – the Argentine was fouled by Farrell who was sent off for a last-man offense.
New York quickly pressed their numerical advantage after the break with Gabriel Pereira showing incredible composure to put Kessler and Pereira on the floor and set up an easy finish in the 50th minute. Cushing’s side should have run up a high scoreline from there, but Petrovic frustrated the hosts time and again.
NYCFC’s defensive problems came back to haunt them in the 77th minute when Carles Gil split them open and DeJuan Jones set up Bou for an easy second goal of the game. But it was only a temporary revival for the Revs, who were finished off by Castellanos just five minutes later.
Here is how every player performed in a lively encounter at Yankee Stadium:
Goal no.12 for @tatycaste11anos thanks to Thiago’s ⚡️ run 📈 pic.twitter.com/vV8IPCPvH1
— New York City Football Club (@NYCFC) July 9, 2022
GK: Sean Johnson – 6/10 – Could do nothing about Bou’s goals or Lletget’s effort off the bar. Made a couple of decent saves otherwise.
RB: Tayvon Gray – 6/10 – Did just fine, both offensively and defensively.
CB: Thiago Martins – 6/10 – An improved performance. Clean on the ball and steady at the back. Some questionable positioning, though.
CB: Alexander Callens – 7/10 – Dominant in the air and led the defense well enough.
LB: Malte Amundsen – 7/10 – Put in a couple of dangerous crosses and didn’t let anything beat him defensively.
CM: Alfredo Morales – 8/10 – Far more assured than the guy next to him in midfield, sweeping the ball around with confidence and breaking up Revs attacks.
CM: Nicolas Acevedo – 5/10 – Beaten too easily by Lletget on the Revs’ equalizer and was a little sloppy on the ball throughout.
RW: Santiago Rodriguez – 8/10 – Looked on the edge of tearing New England apart all afternoon and did his bit defensively, too.
CAM: Maxi Moralez – 7/10 – Created three chances and was looking very dangerous, but had to be subbed out at half-time after getting hurt in the collision that led to the second penalty.
LW: Talles Magno – 8/10 – Won and converted the first penalty. Dangerous throughout the first half but lost momentum after the break.
ST: Taty Castellanos – 9/10 – Won one penalty which he missed, but then won another and scored just 10 minutes later. Was a constant thorn in New England’s side with his movement. Grabbed a well-deserved second late on.
SUB: Gabriel Pereira (46′, for Moralez) – 8/10 – Showed excellent composure on his goal and was electric across the second half.
SUB: Justin Haak (67′, for Acevedo) – 6/10 – A couple of decent moments on the ball and broke up play well.
SUB: Thiago Andrade (67′, for Magno) – 7/10 – Should have scored but Castellanos got to the rebound anyway. An exciting cameo.
SUB: Maxime Chanot (84′, for Martins) – 6/10 – Didn’t have much to do.
SUB: Heber (89′, for Rodriguez) – N/A – No time to get into the game.
We’re back in it!@dejuanjones24 feeds @gustavobouok! pic.twitter.com/8aNI1Z7Lcw
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 9, 2022
GK: Djordje Petrovic – 8/10 – Can’t be blamed for any of the four goals. In fact, it would have been a lot worse without Petrovic, who kept out a penalty among a string of superb saves.
RB: Brandon Bye – 4/10 – Sloppy with the ball and was beaten in far too many one-on-ones.
CB: Andrew Farrell – 1/10 – Conceded two penalties and was sent off all before half-time.
CB: Henry Kessler – 5/10 – Hard done by with the penalty he conceded. Had to put in a double-shift next to two center-backs having off-days through the course of the match.
LB: DeJuan Jones – 7/10 – Grabbed an assist and was a presence in the final third throughout despite the numerical mismatch.
CM: Tommy McNamara – 4/10 – Part of a terrible breakdown in communication for NYCFC’s third, which all but killed the game.
CM: Wilfrid Kaptoum – 5/10 – Was tidy enough on the ball but an obvious choice to bring off for an extra center-back.
RW: Sebastian Lletget – 7/10 – Did brilliantly on Bou’s first goal and came so close to scoring himself after the break, crashing the bar.
CAM: Carles Gil – 7/10 – Did his best to keep the Revs dangerous, picking up dangerous positions and slicing NYCFC open with his passing.
LW: Dylan Borrero – 4/10 – A couple of flashes but far too quiet.
ST: Gustavo Bou – 8/10 – Two goals from three shots and created a few chances himself. Did well considering how isolated he was at times.
SUB: Jon Bell (46′, for Kaptoum) – 3/10 – Picked up where Farrell left off. Poor communication and out of position too often
SUB: Matt Polster (72′, for McNamara) – 5/10 – Neat and tidy, unspectacular.
SUB: Arnor Ingvi Traustason (72′, for Borrero) – 3/10 – Barely touched the ball.
SUB: Emmanuel Boateng (78′, for Lletget) – 4/10 – Didn’t get going.
