Yordy Reyna just introduced himself to the Vancouver Whitecaps' faithful in a big way.
Reyna came off the bench and scored a dramatic game-winner late to push the Whitecaps to a 3-2 victory over New York City FC on Wednesday night. The Peruvian attacker, playing in his first game at BC Place, opened his Vancouver account in the 87th minute of the thrilling encounter with a powerful header that soared to the far post and capped a second-half comeback.
Both teams surrendered leads in the match, but New York City were the ones to allow a 2-1 advantage to slip away. Jordan Harvey netted the game's equalizer in the 54th minute with a splendid volley, and that set up the stage for Reyna to nod home the decisive goal with authority.
Goals
- 3' – VAN – Fredy MonteroWatch
- 34' – NYC – Maxime ChanotWatch
- 40' – NYC – David Villa (PK) Watch
- 54' – VAN – Jordan Harvey Watch
- 87' – VAN – Yordy Reyna Watch
Three Things
- WHAT A FIRST IMPRESSION: Yordy Reyna did not only score the winner for the Vancouver Whitecaps in his home debut, but also turned the game against New York City FC on its head after coming on in the 65th minute. Reyna changed the complexion of the match by giving Vancouver a dynamic, speedy, and aggressive player that quickly exploited the space allowed on the counter. He found himself at the end of a couple of chances that he failed to finish, but eventually struck gold with his incredible header.
- DEFENSIVE LETDOWN: New York City will rue their inability to do a better job of defending in transition, but also their failure to prevent crosses. Both Jordan Harvey's equalizer and Reyna's winner were born from balls whipped in from the right, and NYCFC applied little-to-no pressure to the players that provided the service. Throw in the fact that New York City FC allowed open looks on the pair of chances, and you can see clearly just how poor of a defensive outing this was for the club.
- MIXED BAG: Andrea Pirlo made his way back into NYCFC's starting lineup for the first time since mid-May, but his performance was a tale of two halves. Pirlo was solid in the opening 45 minutes, staying active, moving the ball crisply, and helping set up Maxime Chanot's equalizer. Things got more difficult for the Italian after halftime, however, as the game opened up following Yangel Herrera's exit. Pirlo was forced to do more work off the ball, which is not his forte, and he struggled before eventually getting yanked in the 75th minute.
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