Ronald Matarrita and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi scored first-half goals to lift New York City FC to a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium on Decision Day presented by AT&T.
Matarrita, who was a late pregame add to the lineup for the injured Heber, put NYCFC in front on seven minutes, completing a nice buildup that started with him combining with Maxi Moralez, who slipped a pass to Ben Sweat.
Sweat played the ball back to the edge of the 18-yard box to Taty Castellanos, who slipped in Matarrita, who took a settling touch before finishing with his right foot from 10 yards out.
The visitors doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute as Tajouri-Shradi spun out of the 18-yard box and chipped a deflected shot past Andre Blake. Tajouri-Shradi would leave the match 10 minutes later, suffering an ankle injury, replaced by Jesus Medina.
The Union had a golden chance to pull within a goal before the break, but Sean Johnson denied an Andrew Wooten header at the goal line. Philadelphia pulled a goal back three minutes from full time when Marco Fabian scored from the penalty spot after Ebenezer Ofori was called for a handball in the box.
Goals
- 7’ — NYC — Ronald Matarrita | WATCH
- 22’ — NYC — Ismael Tajouri-Shradi | WATCH
- 87’ — PHI — Marco Fabian (PK) | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: It was a weird start with star strikers for both teams — Kacper Przybylko and Heber suffering pregame injuries. But NYCFC were clinical early and weathered the storm late to send the Union to a second straight defeat.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The first NYCFC goal was a thing of beauty.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Castellanos assisted on both NYCFC goals, was a constant threat in the attacking third and did so much work against the ball.
Next Up
- Philadelphia: Oct. 20 vs. New York Red Bulls, 3 pm ET (FS1, FOX Deportes) | Round One, Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs
- NYCFC: Oct. 23 vs. TBD, 7 pm ET (FS1, FOX Deportes) | Eastern Conference Semifinals, Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs
