NYCFC Notches Late Win Over Columbus

 

NYCFC celebrates its tying goal in the 73rd minute. Photo by Jason Schott.

New York City Football Club, led by a pair of goals from Hannes Wolf, notched a late comeback win over the Columbus Crew, 3-2, on Wednesday night, at Yankee Stadium.

This was NYCFC's second straight win, and with that, they have leapfrogged Lionel Messi's Inter Miami and Columbus for fifth place in the MLS Eastern Conference.

NYCFC is now 15-5-9, with 50 points, ahead of Miami, who has 49 points and a record of 14-7-6, and Columbus, also with 49 points, who fell to a record of 13-10-7.

The 15 wins NYCFC has is ties for the second-most wins in the MLS with Nashville, who also has 50 points (15-5-10), just behind the 17 wins that FC Cincinnati, Charlotte, San Diego FC, and Philadelphia have.

This is the sixth season NYCFC has won at least 15 games since 2016, most in the MLS in that time period. The most wins in a single season NYCFC has had came in 2019 when it had 18, and the second most was the 16 it notches in 2017, '18, and '22. 

It was a tightly played first half until Columbus drew a penalty kick in the 37th minute.

The Crew took the ball at midfield and drove down the left side of the field when Hugo Picard dropped it off to Wessam Abou Ali, who was battling Aiden O'Neill, and was taken down in the box.

That resulted in a penalty kick, and after a somewhat lengthy delay, Daniel Gazdag buried it to give Columbus a 1-0 lead.

Daniel Gazdag taking the penalty kick. Photo by Jason Schott.

It stayed that way into extra time, when NYCFC had a free kick in the 48th minute. O'Neill fired one from near the center line towards the box, and after it was headed away by a Columbus defender on the right side of the box, Justin Haak fired it back towards the center, where Hannah Wolf flicked it in to tie it before halftime.

NYCFC celebrates Hannes Wolf's tying goal late in the first half. Photo by Jason Schott.

Columbus got the lead back in the 60th minute when Max Arfsten sent a pass from just outside the box into the center, where Abou Ali leaped up and headed it in to make it 2-1.

NYCFC didn't take long to respond. In the 73rd minute, O'Neill stripped the ball from a Columbus player along the touch line, then flicked it ahead to Agustin Ojeda, who drove it nearly all the way towards the back line before he sent it back to Wolf, who buried it to tie the game.

This was Wolf's second goal of the night, and the brace gives him 11 goals on the season, the second NYCFC player to reach double digits this year, after Alonso Martinez's 15 goals. 

This is the fifth time in NYCFC history that two players have scored 10 or more goals in the same season. Wolf also becomes the fourth-ever NYCFC player to notch at least four braces in a single MLS regular season.

It remained tied at two deep into extra time, and NYCFC was ready to strike again as the clock wound down.

In the 94th minute - the last of four in extra time - NYCFC forced a turnover, and Ojeda raced up the sidelines into Columbus territory, where he sent it ahead to Julian Fernandez, who buried a left-footed shot to make it 3-2 NYCFC.

This won't show up in the scoresheet, but Seymour Reid deserves credit on the play, as he also was going for Ojeda's pass, but he pulled back when he saw Fernandez would line up for a perfect strike on the net better because he was running facing the net.

Julian Fernandez celebrates his goal. Provided by NYCFC.

This was Fernandez's third goal of the season, giving him seven goal contributions overall this season. Ojeda's two assists give him five on the season, and he has three in two games, after he had one in Chicago last Saturday.

NYCFC Head Coach Pascal Jansen said of the significance of the win, "I mentioned it a couple of games back already - I believe [once you enter] the final stage of the season with around eight games to go, that's where you either win or lose what you're after during the league. We were competitive throughout the season, had our ups and downs, [and] a few moments. Going into this stretch with everything still possible, as tight as it is in our league at the moment [every match is like] eight finals. That loss against D.C. (2-1 on August 30) was a big one to swallow because we were way better than that team that night, but they punished us for some minor mistakes, and that's what it is at this level. We had to bounce back, and we did with a good game against Chicago away (3-1 last Saturday). Now it was also time to set things straight against a direct opponent again in our own house. The way they [the players] did it was very impressive and keeps us going towards the end of the season."