New York City Football Club are back on the road this weekend with a visit to Houston Dynamo.
The Boys in Blue travel to Texas in an 8:30pm ET kick-off on Saturday.
Ahead of the game, we Flashback to a five-goal thriller, and our first home win against the Orange Crush…
The Ten-Minute Turnaround
Another topsy-turvy fixture packed full of drama, and the birth of a new hero…
The enthralling twists of a rollercoaster ride, and the sheer ecstasy of a last-minute winner – it’s what soccer is all about!
Houston’s trip to Yankee Stadium in August 2019 yielded plenty of action: five goals, a red card, two comebacks and a remarkable finale, which saw the pendulum swing turbulently back and forth on a stormy night in the Bronx.
Eventually, it settled in City’s favor, as the Boys in Blue snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in sensational fashion, thanks to Taty Castellanos’ brilliant brace from the bench.
Introduced for the final half an hour, the Argentine produced a magnificent cameo display to turn the game on its head spectacularly.
Though he had found the net in City Blue prior to this fixture, Castellanos’ incredible late show, and Player of the Match display, truly announced his arrival with his most significant contribution to date.
His stellar 'super sub' showing earned deserved acclaim, with former NYCFC Head Coach Dome Torrent hailing his "fighter" forward, as well as his side's strength and resilience to "fight to the last moment" after the game.
The home side looked to have gained control of the contest after just 16 minutes, when Alexandru Mitriță slid home, finishing a superb, incisive one-touch attacking move – only for Juan Cabezas to level ten minutes later.
Former Blue Tommy McNamara, returning to his old stomping ground for the first time, was the provider, cutting back for Cabezas to steer into the far corner first-time.
The visitors’ joy proved short-lived though when Romell Quioto saw red three minutes later, sending Dynamo down to ten just before the half-hour mark, but City struggled to make the man advantage count with an hour-long rain delay hampering proceedings.
In search of a winner, Torrent introduced Castellanos in what would turn out to be an inspired substitution – but not before Houston stunned the home side, taking the lead with just 13 minutes of normal time left, courtesy of Mauro Manotas’ terrific curling effort.
Time for Taty…
The striker sparked into life to ignite a dramatic comeback, nodding home Keaton Parks’ cross with seven left on the clock, before converting at the second attempt in the third minute of injury-time to snatch all three points.
As the forward wheeled away in elation, there were jubilant scenes in the Bronx - Yankee Stadium erupted: an outpouring of joy for a terrific fightback.
A special moment, and a crucial victory, as Parks explained after the game: "It was a big win. Every win is big, especially here in Yankee Stadium.
"All the guys on the bench are always ready to come in and do their part. Taty [Castellanos] had a huge game tonight, obviously came in and scored two goals for us and got us the win. We deserved the win overall and it was big for us.”
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