Chicago Fire Goals: Beric 33', Frankowski 42' & 43'
NYCFC Goals: Callens 15', Mackay-Steven 32', Medina 37', Castellanos 77'
Quick Read
New York City FC will enter the MLS Playoffs on a hot streak after making it four successive victories with a wild 4-3 Decision Day win over Chicago Fire at Soldier Field.
The Boys in Blue edged a seven-goal thriller thanks to a winning goal from Taty Castellanos in the second half after six goals were traded in a crazy first half.
Orlando City's defeat to Nashville SC means that City will travel to the Exploria Stadium for their Eastern Conference Round One to face their 2015 expansion cousins.
Match Recap
Head Coach Ronny Deila named an unchanged lineup once again as he looked to extend NYCFC's winning streak to four and to keep the pressure on for fourth spot and a chance at home-field advantage for the Playoffs.
On the bench, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi returned to the squad providing an attacking option outside of the XI for the first time in a few matches as City made their first appearance at Soldier Field for their final regular season test.
To say the first half was wild would be an understatement as both sides delivered an explosive first 45' with six goals traded between the teams.
Chicago made the stronger start to the match with Robert Beric close to opening the scoring inside the opening 20 seconds after a defensive lapse but he dragged the shot wide.
City made that profligacy pay on 15' when Alex Callens headed in the first goal of the game, rising to meet a Maxi Moralez corner, powering it past Bobby Shuttleworth for his second goal of the season.
NYC doubled their tally on 32' with a superbly worked goal as the electric Taty Castellanos fed Gary Mackay-Steven, who raced onto the through ball, rounded the goalkeeper and finished from a near-impossible angle for his second goal in two matches.
The two-goal advantage barely lasted 60 seconds, however, as the Fire got on the board through Beric who was left unmarked in the center of the box and headed in past Johnson on 33'.
The goals kept coming as Jesús Medina hammered in a golazo for his fifth regular season goal, making it 3-1 on 37' but Chicago recovered quickly, with Przemyslaw Frankowski scoring twice in two minutes before the break to send the teams in level at 3-3.
As is so often the case after high-scoring first halves, the second period was a tighter affair with both coaches making adjustments to their approaches but it was NYCFC who got the match-clinching seventh goal of the afternoon through Taty Castellanos's opportunistic fifth goal of the season.
It was a wayward clearance from a Chicago defender which fell kindly for our in-form Argentine striker, who coolly placed the ball past Shuttleworth to make it four consecutive wins for NYCFC, sending us into the postseason on a real high.
Heineken Man of the Match
As voted on Twitter: Taty Castellanos
How We Lined Up
What's Next
New York City FC will travel to the Exploria Stadium for Round One of the MLS Playoffs, taking on Orlando City SC between November 21 - 24. We'll keep you posted on the date and time for that match when it's confirmed here on NYCFC.com and on the Club's social media channels.
