Reduced to 10 men for more than an hour, the Houston Dynamo looked to be on the verge of a win before a late rally gave New York City FC a 3-2 win at Yankee Stadium.
Tied 1-1 at the half, the two teams waited out a 76-minute weather delay in the locker room before resuming play in the second half. The delay produced a back-and-forth second half that featured three goals and two lead changes, with New York City FC grabbing the winner in the third minute of stoppage time.
New York took the lead in the 16th minute after five-pass combination the top of the penalty area. Midfielder Jesus Medina found forward Heber inside the box, tightly marked by Dynamo defender A.J. DeLaGarza. Momentum took the Dynamo defender to the ground and the New York City forward backheeled the ball to forward Alexandru Mitrita, who finished at the far post.
Houston equalized in the 26th minute after midfielder Tommy McNamara, who spent four seasons in the Bronx and made his first visit to Yankee Stadium as a member of the Dynamo, found Juan David Cabezas near the penalty spot. Cabezas placed a left-footed shot inside the right post, his first goal since he scored in a 2-2 draw against the Portland Timbers at BBVA Stadium on July 29, 2017.
Coming out of the lengthy weather delay, Dynamo forward Mauro Manotas entered the match to start the second half. The 23-year-old Colombian scored the go-ahead goal in the 77th minute with a beautiful strike from outside the box. Midfielder MatÃas Vera found Manotas at the top of the box with space and time, and the forward rifled a shot past goalkeeper Sean Johnson for his ninth goal of the season.
The strike was Manotas’ 57th in all competitions, tying him with former Dynamo forward Will Bruin for second on the club’s all-time scoring list.
The hosts answered six minutes later through a header from forward ValentÃn Castellanos. The Argentine rose up near the penalty spot and snapped a headed shot toward the near post, catching Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric going the wrong way.
Castellanos found the winner in the 93rd minute. The winning strike began with a cross from the left flank from winger Ronald Matarrita that was flicked on by midfielder Keaton Parks. Castellanos’ initial headed shot was brilliantly saved by Deric, but the rebound fell to Castellanos’ feet for the tap-in winner.
Houston will remain on the East Coast as they take the train down to Philadelphia to face off with the top-seeded Philadelphia Union on Sunday, Aug. 11 at 5 p.m. CDT. The Dynamo then return to BBVA Stadium on Aug. 17 to host Tim Howard and the Colorado Rapids at 8 p.m. CDT.
