One game in 100 words: It was quite the entertaining eight-goal game at Yankee Stadium which had two of Major League Soccer’s big signings in full action. NYCFC man David Villa tallied two goals and Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco totaled three. In the 85th and 86th minute, there were back-and-forth efforts from both players, the combination of star power and weak defense in full effect. The remainder of the game didn’t end in a clear victory for one outfit, as opposing defenses couldn’t match the energy of the offensive attacks at many instances. At ninth place in the East, New York City FC is now tied with the Montreal Impact on points (21), while Toronto remains three points ahead at third place.
Goals
NYC: David Villa ’17, 65', Damien Perquis 29' (OG), Patrick Mullins 84'
Toronto: Sebastian Giovinco 34', 40', 43', Marco Delgado 82'
Three moments that mattered
65’ — Villa’s second, erases deficit — Villa sprinted a hard-cutting path into the box and the 33-year-old tried his best to create a scoring chance by selling his fall to the ground of of opposing goalkeeper Chris Konopka’s challenge. Feeling the call was incorrect, Konopka made his appeal to the referee. Villa ended up nailing the ensuing penalty kick with a standard left-corner shot.
82’ — Vital from Giovinco — The goal was directly a result from Giovinco’s wonderful forward run, zipping down the wing toward the end line and knocking a last-second pass that finished with an easy tap-in. 20-year-old Marco Delgado squared off the assist from the “Atomic Ant”, and TFC appeared to snag the crucial goal.
84’ — Mullins equalizes — NYCFC swung back two minutes later and took advantage of a well-delivered set piece cross that nearly pin balled into the net, though defender Justin Moore managed to clear it out. Former New England Revolution man Patrick Mullins positioned himself well to head the rebounded opportunity between the iron.
Lineups
NYC: Patrick Mullins, David Villa; Josh Saunders; Andoni Iraola, Kwame Watson-Siriboe (Angelino 46'), Shay Facey, Chris Wingert; Ned Grabavoy, Andrew Jacobson, Mehdi Ballouchy (Pablo Álvarez 76'), Thomas McNamara (Kwadwo Poku 67')
Toronto: Sebastian Giovinco, Robbie Findley; Chris Konopka; Justin Morrow, Nick Hagglund, Damien Perquis (Eriq Zavaleta 76'), Daniel Lovitz; Marco Delgado, Colleen Warner, Jackson (Warren Creavalle 83'), Benoit Cheyrou