Tayvon Gray's late header lifts NYCFC past 10-man Philadelphia

Tayvon Gray scored on a header in the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time to lift New York City FC to a wild 2-1 victory over the 10-man Philadelphia Union on Sunday in Chester, Pa.

Gray's second career MLS goal, and the first since the 2024 season, came eight minutes after Philadelphia defender Olwethu Makhanya was sent off after receiving his second booking for dissent.

Hannes Wolf also scored before halftime for NYCFC (1-0-1, 4 points), which won its second in a row in Philadelphia after a 1-0 win in a 2025 Eastern Conference semifinal.

Indiana Vassilev's 89th-minute penalty pulled the Union (0-2-0, 0 points) level after they were the aggressors for the majority of the second half.

But Philadelphia failed to score from open play for a second consecutive match, after an offseason in which it parted with several members of its 2025 Supporters' Shield-winning team, including leading scorer Tai Baribo and striker Mikael Uhre.

The Union had peppered NYCFC's goal up until their equalizer, earning a spot kick awarded when referee Chris Penso ruled Thiago Martins had hauled down Stas Korzeniowski in the penalty area.

Vassilev stepped up and hammered his finish down the middle, then quickly ran to retrieve the ball as it appeared the hosts were more likely to take the victory.

That changed when Makhanya disputed a decision to award a penalty kick and was summarily dismissed.

Invited forward, NYCFC found their winner on a recycled play after an initial attack was repelled.

Talles Magno reached the ball on the left side of the penalty area and played the ball to Agustin Ojeda near the top corner of the box.

Ojeda curled in an inswinging cross, and Gray outmuscled his marker to meet with a firm header that left goalkeeper Andre Blake little chance to react.

Ojeda also played a role in the setup of NYCFC's 36th-minute opener, hitting a diagonal pass that led to Nicolas Fernandez's shot from the left side of the penalty area to force Andre Blake into a lunging save.

Wolf was first to the rebound and hammered it into an open net before Blake could recover.

--Field Level Media