October 3, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – New York City FC News Release
New York City Football Club secured home field advantage in the 2022 MLS Playoffs with a hard-earned 2-1 win over Orlando City on Sunday.
Here are Five Points from the impressive comeback win at Red Bull Arena…
Playoffs Pending
The Boys in Blue will begin the post season on home soil when the tournament kicks-off in mid-October.
With qualification already clinched, thanks to Chicago Fire’s 3-2 win at Cincinnati on Saturday, the pressure was alleviated slightly for Orlando’s visit – but Nick Cushing’s side had their sights firmly set on cementing a top-four finish for home advantage.
That desire was clear for all to see with the way the hosts rallied to fight back and grab that all-important three points, which lifted the reigning MLS Cup Champions into third spot in the Eastern Conference – six points clear of Cincinnati with one game of the regular season to go.
Two Citys
One of the most pleasing aspects of Sunday’s impressive win was the fact New York portrayed two sides to their game.
Trailing to Facundo Torres’ second-half strike, the team would have been forgiven for dropping their heads in fear of falling to another frustrating defeat after August and September’s challenging run – but instead, the squad regrouped and responded superbly.
The Boys in Blue rallied to claw themselves back into the contest, quite literally forcing the leveler over the line – Keaton Parks battling to keep the ball alive and Talles Magno outmuscling his defender to carve the opening, before crossing for Alex Callens to slide home the crucial effort that turned the tide.
The winning goal was a thing of beauty – a well-worked passing move that started in the backline and turned defense into attack with a single sensational pass, courtesy of Maxi Moralez. The Argentine clipped the ball delightfully into Gabriel Pereira, who then played an inch-perfect through-ball into Talles Magno’s path and the Brazilian drilled across the goalkeeper to snatch all three points late on.
It was a real show of mental strength from City – the team were not about to throw in the towel, and were not afraid of those previous results. Instead, they took what they learned during that period – the need for patience, perseverance and placing trust in the gameplan – and saw their efforts deservedly come to fruition.
Big, battling, and beautiful.
Talles Magnificent
What a performance by Talles Magno.
The 20-year-old produced a Man of…
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