Tayvon Gray’s late header put NYCFC past 10-man Philadelphia.

New York City FC won 2-1 with Tayvon Gray scoring a header in the 9th minute of extra time in the 9th minute of the second half against the Philadelphia Union held in Chester, Pennsylvania last Sunday.

Gray’s second MLS goal and first since the 2024 season came eight minutes after Philadelphia defender Olwethu Makhanya was sent off for a second yellow card for dissent.

Hannes Wolf also scored before halftime for NYCFC (1-0-1, four points), which earned its second straight win in Philadelphia after a 1-0 win in the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals.

Indiana Vasilev’s 89th-minute penalty brought the Union (0-2-0, 0 points) level after being the striker for most of the second half.

But Philadelphia failed to score from open play for the second successive time after an offseason in which they parted ways with several members of the 2025 Supporters’ Shield-winning squad, including leading scorer Tai Baribo and striker Mikael Uhre.

The Union added to NYCFC’s goals until they equalized and were awarded a spot kick when referee Chris Penso ruled that Thiago Martins had brought down Stas Korzeniowski in the penalty area.

Vassilev stepped up and struck a finish towards the centre, quickly running on to retrieve the ball as the hosts looked more likely to win.

That changed when Makhanya challenged the decision to award a penalty and it was summarily dismissed.

Forward invitees NYCFC found a winner from recycled play after an initial attack was repelled.

Thales Magno got his hands on the ball on the left side of the area and struck the ball to Agustín Ojeda near the top corner of the box.

Ojeda swung in to cross inside and Gray overpowered his marker to fire a firm header that left goalkeeper Andre Blake little chance to react.

Ojeda also played a role in setting up NYCFC’s 36th-minute opener, hitting a diagonal pass from Nicolas Fernandez’s shot from the left side of the area to force Andre Blake into a rushing save.

Wolfe attempted the rebound first and pounded it into an open net before Blake could recover.

–Field level media