Recap: NYCFC 2, Columbus Crew 0

Dylan Butler

Goals by Talles Magno and Taty Castellanos in each half lifted New York City FC to a 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.

Magno received a feed from Santi Rodriguez, took a touch to free himself from Crew fullback Steven Moreira and fired a low left-footed shot through traffic and inside the far post to give NYCFC the lead inside nine minutes.

Castellanos put the match away in the 59th minute, played behind the Crew defense by a Maxi Moralez long ball before chipping an onrushing Eloy Room to move within a goal of the Golden Boot presented by Audi lead.

Goals

9’ — NYC — Talles Magno | WATCH
59’ — NYC — Taty Castellanos | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: NYCFC closed out a five-match homestand, split between Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, going 4-0-1 – and that’s excluding a US Open Cup Round of 32 win over Rochester at St. John’s University. The Cityzens outscored opponents in those MLS matches 16-4 as they continue to steadily climb the Eastern Conference table. The Crew, meanwhile, remain winless away from Lower.com Field, falling to 0-2-4, in a toothless effort that saw Columbus fail to put any of their nine shots on frame.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH: When Taty Castellanos was played behind the Crew defense by Maxi Moralez and cruised in alone on Eloy Room, it didn’t feel like if the Argentine would score, but rather how. The answer was this sensational chip.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Maxi Moralez was brought to New York to be the club’s No. 10, but on Saturday night the veteran was asked to play a role foreign to him. Despite never playing as a No. 6, Moralez shined. He completed 90% of his passes, picked up an assist on the Castellanos goal and won nearly 73% of his 11 duels in a strong 80-minute shift.