Two goals in seven minutes after 52 matches of waiting
Bruno Damiani had waited 52 MLS matches for his first brace. On Sunday night in New York, he finally got it, and he did it in seven minutes to flip a game Philadelphia had let slip away before the break.
The Union came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at New York City FC. Second time in a row they have climbed out of that kind of hole. It was also Ryan Richter’s fourth straight win since taking over as interim boss.
For 45 minutes, none of that looked likely. NYCFC had the game under control and two penalties tucked away, Benie Traore first, then Luighi on his MLS debut.
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A 16-year-old set up both goals that mattered
The real thread running through the night was Sullivan. Cavan, 16, supplied two assists.
In the 48th minute he was first to a Kei Wagner free kick swung in from the left. A header flicked it on, Danley Jean Jacques brought it down on his thigh, held off Max Murray and rolled it past Matt Freese.
In the 69th, after a Jesus Bueno interception, Cavan burst down the right channel onto a Milan Iloski pass. He could have shot. He squared it instead, and Damiani only had to tap in.
Six minutes later his older brother Quinn collected a Bueno ball on the left, rode a last-ditch James Sands slide tackle, drove into the area and picked out Damiani again. Winner.
Five points, and a mood swing in both directions
The result carries real weight. Philadelphia had won once before the World Cup break. At 5-10-4 and 19 points, the Union sit five points off the play-off line in the Eastern Conference.
New York City FC are going the other way. Third straight defeat across all competitions, and their first league loss since a 2-1 setback at Nashville on 23 May, just before the pause. They are 7-7-5 with 26 points, and the mood has turned fast.
An interim head coach winning four in a row. A 16-year-old creator. A Uruguayan striker breaking his duck after 52 games. Nobody in Philadelphia was writing that script in July.
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