NYCFC, Driving Forward

For NYCFC, the challenge set forth was clear: play the game and not the occasion.

On that score, Dome Torrent’s men passed the test, refusing to lay down despite chasing a deficit twice in the encounter and playing amid a party atmosphere in St Paul.

Recovering from an early concession, City took the lead thanks to two goals in two minutes from Taty Castellanos and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi and they came back again after the interval and equalized again after an unfortunate third Minnesota goal (more on that later…).

After dominating the second period thanks to a strong, controlled performance, it was NYCFC who came away feeling like they did enough for all three points and there were plenty of positives to take from the match - on the tactical and technical side, as well as on the mental side of the game.

As Sean Johnson put it: “I don’t think this game is going to do anything that’ll set us back. I think if anything, it’s going to drive us forward.”