UndeNYable indeed. On Saturday, the New York City Football club snapped New York’s 3,597-day championship drought by ousting the reigning champion Portland Timber’s 4-2 on penalty kicks at an absonat Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, to capture their first MLS Cup in just their seventh season of existence. NYCFC went 14-11-9 in the regular season, which was good enough for 51 points and the fourth seed in the East, but they had to win their last five to etch their name on the list for the dance. They then soundly defeated Atlanta FC in front of a delighted Yankee Stadium crowd, took down the Supporters Shield winning New England Revolution 3-2, by going 5for 5 to their rivals 3 for 5 in the shootout, rallied past a short-handed Philadelphia Union team 2-1, and capped it all off with a 2-1 shootout win over the Timbers army for the Cup.
NYCFC struck gold first when Golden Boot winner Valentin Castellnaos headed one to the net that squeaked by goalkeeper Steve Cark just before halftime to bring the 300,000 New York fans in attendance to their feet. But it seemed as if that would be the lone tally of the contest, for NY’s goaltender and captain Sean Johnson was having the best game of his 12-year career, aided by a Herculean effort by the defense as well. But seconds away from defeat, the Timbers scrapped and clawed their way to level, when Felipe Mora found the loose ball in the box and sent it home with five seconds remaining in stoppage time to send a jolt through the city of Portland, and even this final at a goal apiece headed for overtime. The first half of the extra frame saw the Timbers dominate possession, seemingly overwhelming NYCFC, many of whom were playing in their first final in conjunction with the franchise. The hosts seemed to have momentarily won it when Yimi Chara set up Diego Valeri down low, but the attempt was too high of the goal to capture the “Golden Goal,” thus forcing the teams to play on. After both netminders traded vital stops, the whistle was blown, and after 120 minutes of free play, it was onto penalties to decide the 2021 Major League Soccer championship.
New York won the toss and elected to shoot first, which Valentine Castellanos took advantage of, and after Johnson stopped Felipe Mora, NYCFC found themselves leading 1-0 after round 1.
Two rounds later, Max Morales stood tall with all of Portland breathing down his neck to increase the lead to 2-0. But Santiago Moreano wouldn’t let the Timbers go down quietly, drilling one past Sean to bring his team to within 2-1. In the fourth round, 19-year-old Talles Mango slipped one past Clark to put New York a save away from the trophy. But kudos to Cristhian Parades for not letting it happen on his watch, blasting one past Jonson to cut the deficit to 3-2. Ultimately, it would only delay the inevitable a few moments, for Alexander Callens called championship by rifling one top-cheddar for his second shootout winner of the playoffs, sending his teammates into endless ecstasy. The players and fans alike celebrated well into the evening and wee hours of Sunday morning, even holding an after-party in the lobby of their hotel. While back home in the new “Soccer City USA,” NYC mayor Bill-De Blasio said, “HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE!
Congratulations to NYCFC for showing the world that NYC grit and determination win every time!
Bring that cup back to New York City; we're ready to celebrate with you at City Hall. See you Tuesday!”. This cements an illustrious career thus far for MLS cup MVP Sean Johnson who fittingly said, “This Club has built a champion.”
Jesues Medina took it an extra mile, tweeting, “BING BOOONG…. MLS IS BLUE 🤍💙 NYC IS BLUE @NYCFC 🏆🏆🗽🗽🗽 WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.”
Manager Ronny Deila even kept his promise to NYCFC nation, ripping off his shirt and raising the euphoria inside Providence Park, which ensures his job is safe after there was a “Fire Ronny Deila” sign outside Yankee stadium last month before the team went on their hot streak. NYCFC also became the first team in recent memory without a permanent home field, as they’ve experienced home games at Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, and across the Hudson at the bitter rival Red Bull’s turf as well.
The last time New York took a trip down the canyon of heroes was the 2011 New York Football Giants, just a day after the next winning franchise was founded. In that period, both the 2014 Rangers and 2015 Mets made final appearances, while the 2019-2021 New York Islanders made consecutive conference championship appearances before being thwarted of a championship. Here on their first try, the New York City Football club accomplished their feat on their first try and will be rewarded at City Hall on Tuesday, as they arrive home after three straight road playoff wins for the Cup.
Time to pain the down blue because these guys deserve it. We finally champion New York again! Let’s soak it all in!
MARVS MAILBAG:
Q: HOW DID YOU CELEBRATE NYCFC’S TITLE?
A: Aside from going bonkers on social media(@AzrakMarvin on Twitter and @the_Marvzone on Instagram), I ordered a championship hat and poured water on myself to celebrate the historic triumph. When Sunday rolled around, I couldn’t stop the “Come on New York” cry, which is now “We won New York,” and will continue to have it rattle around as I let this sink in.
Q: DOES THIS MEAN AS MUCH AS A MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL CHAMPIONSHIP?
A: Of course not. The way I celebrated the NYCFC championship is different from how I would celebrate one from the Knicks/Rangers/Giants/Yankees.
NY finally won a championship, and for that, I was happy, but if those four win one…. It won’t only be one for the city, but a family championship as well. That was just the tip of the iceberg to celebrate a favorite team winning it all from my lens.
Q: WHAT'S NEXT FOR NYCFC?
A: The CONCACAF champions league is in a battle against all of the best clubs in the continent beginning in February. If you stand tall in that over the other 15 teams, you advance to the FIBA World Cup in the upcoming Summertime featuring the best club teams in the world. But as coach Deila says,” There’s a time for everything, and right now it’s time to enjoy the fact that we are Major League Soccer champions.”
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