How NYCFC can adjust without Valentin Castellanos for MLS Eastern Conference final

As was the case for much of the 2021 season, New York City FC found itself at the whim of talented but sometimes temperamental striker Valentín Castellanos during Tuesday’s MLS Eastern Conference semifinal win over the New England Revolution.

Well, Taty gave, and now Taty has been taken away.

NYCFC doesn’t reach the club’s first conference final without Castellanos’ scoring, including a go-ahead goal in extra time on Tuesday. But City also finds itself without its MVP finalist entering the most important match in the team’s history. The 23-year-old picked up his second yellow card of the match a few minutes after his goal, earning an ejection and automatic suspension for the club’s visit to the Philadelphia Union on Sunday.

The absence of Castellanos, who won the MLS Golden Boot with 19 regular-season goals, undoubtedly will loom over NYCFC’s preparation for Philadelphia. But in the aftermath of Tuesday’s win, his teammates predictably expressed faith in the club’s other options.

"We are a team," said defender Tayvon Gray, starting for the second straight playoff game after limited time this season. "Taty won’t be there, but we have other players that can do the job so it’s fine."

Santiago Rodriguez, who scored the opening goal in Tuesday’s win, didn’t equivocate when asked about playing without Castellanos, but also expressed faith in a yet-to-be-named replacement.

"It’s definitely a big loss," Rodriguez said through a translator. "He is our leader and our goal scorer and the guy that leads the attack. We have full confidence in the player that is going to take his place. We have a lot of confidence in him, we have a lot of harmony and camaraderie within the group. There is a lot of togetherness, and we know that we’re rooting for the next person up who fills his place."

Confidence is great, but experience would help. Castellanos started 32 of 34 league matches this season, plus both of NYCFC’s postseason wins as well as its Leagues Cup appearance in August. Before his ejection Tuesday, he’d played 292 consecutive minutes since kickoff on Decision Day and recorded at least 90 minutes in seven of the previous nine matches.

Castellanos’ first missed match was due to yellow card accumulation, forcing him out of a 3-3 draw with FC Dallas at Red Bull Arena on Sept. 14. NYCFC was able to score that day against a Dallas defense that allowed the third most goals in MLS this season (56), getting contributions from Maxi Moralez, Jesús Medina and Talles Magno. The young Brazilian Magno was handed the start in front with Castellanos absent, putting 3 of 5 shots on target for 1.2 expected goals over 80 minutes.

Taty’s second absence was for a high challenge against the Red Bulls that went unpunished on the field, keeping him from a 2-0 defeat to the lowly Chicago Fire on Sept. 29. Magno up top didn’t work quite as well that day, and NYCFC put just two shots on target in a sleepy loss amid its roughest stretch of the season.

There may be a key difference for NYCFC entering Castellanos’ third suspension of 2021 — a full-strength Héber. The club’s leading scorer in 2019 missed a full year of action following a torn ACL to return for a 10-minute cameo in the draw with Dallas and made six more appearances as the season finished. His impact was minimal with no goals and just three shots on target, all coming in a drubbing of D.C. United. A well-timed return to form would be welcome.

In addition to Héber and Magno, fellow Brazilian Thiago Andrade could get a look after subbing on at New England and showing composure in the penalty shootout. He scored four times in 972 minutes this season. Veteran Ismael Tajouri-Shradi also remains an option in attack after his own PK make and seven goals this year, but he’s not scored a regular goal since August and last started a match in September.

Whichever player gets the opportunity, don’t expect an answer from head coach Ronny Deila just yet as he tries to gain any edge possible for Sunday.

"We know Philadelphia and they know us," Deila said. "It’s been even for as long as I played them and they’re a really good team so it will be as tough as [Tuesday], but again we know what we can do when we’re at our best."